Emblem of the Duelist
by Plaxxramas
Summary: Long before the Orichalcos Wars or the Shadow Games, the eight Emblem Knights protected the Pharaohs. But now five have decided tha Yami has been Pharaoh long enough. Yami must depend on the Knights of Forest, Fire, and Shadow to save the world.


A dark figure looked through binoculars from atop a building. He had shining silver hair that was gelled straight and then spiked up in the front. He was wearing a black, GodSmack: Awake T-shirt and black jean shorts. On top of his shirt was a black, hooded, zip up sweatshirt. On his left arm was a duel disk. A duel disk was a mechanical device that was used to play a card game. There are eleven slots to place a card in and the machine makes holograms of the cards. He also wore a black, spiked belt. Attached to his belt was a green deck box.

He grinned as he saw a boy walking down the sidewalk. The boy had spiky blonde and purple hair. His eyes were a stunning shade of purple. He was wearing a black T-shirt with a blue button up shirt over top. He was wearing blue jeans. There was also a deck box on his belt and a duel disk. And around the boy's neck was a chain necklace that was connected to a golden pyramid that was up side down and had an eye in the middle.

The figure pulled a cell phone out of the left pocket of his sweatshirt. He never took his eyes off the boy as he dialed the number. A voice came through the phone. It was a slightly deep voice. The figure could tell that the person on the other end of the line was trying their best to sound serious but was having difficulty. "Yes, what is it? Have you found the boy? This is very important that you locate him", the voice asked eagerly.

"Relax, I see him. I'm not taking my eyes off of him. In fact I was just about to go and retrieve him. I'm not sure which one, but I sense on of them nearby. It feels very cold. Hard to believe it's June and I'm in a sweatshirt complaining about how cold I am", the figure said in a calm, slightly deeper voice. He grinned as he pulled the binoculars away from his face.

"Hmm, yes I know which one it is. Okay, go down and try to convince him to come with you. It is very important that the one tracking him doesn't get to him before you. And be cautious. Remember what happened last time you dueled one of these guys? You almost didn't make it", the voice said.

"Yes I remember. It still gives me the chills just thinking about it. I love it. Well I'm going to go get him. The sooner I don't feel whichever one it is, the better". The figure closed the phone and stuck it into his pocket. He tied the binoculars to his belt and jumped of the edge of the building. He fell two stories before grabbing hold of the fire escape and running down the remaining flights of stairs. He looked up and saw the boy walking toward him. He was two buildings from where the two streets intersected. The figure saw a black mark moving on the sidewalk behind him. "HEY KID! STOP!"

The boy was day dreaming and was awoken by the figure's shouting. "Who me?" the boy asked as he turned to look behind him. He didn't see anything. "What is it? I don't see anything. Who are you?"

The figure was already running toward him. He stopped three yards in front of the boy and the boy withdrew with surprise for the figure's speed. The figure's hair shimmered as he quickly moved his gaze from the ground to the sky. "Up there. There is somebody stalking you. You are in danger here. You must come with me. Trust me", he said. He amazingly still had his breath. His head sunk down too quickly for the boy to see the figure's eyes. He began to look at the ground again. He noticed his shadow was far too big. "Oh no".

The figure looked up and behind the boy. The boy was shocked by how bright the figure's eyes were. The figure wasn't paying attention to the boy anymore. He was watching the new person standing behind the boy. He was wearing a royal blue cloak with a strange insignia where the hood met the chest. The same insignia was on the forehead of the cloak. On the stranger's right hand was a tattoo of the insignia. On his left arm was a duel disk.

"I have finally found you Pharaoh. I have been looking all over for you. Ah, you. I thought you were taken care of. You were vanquished last time you dueled one of us. No matter, I will send you away for good", the stranger said. His voice was very hoarse. It sounded like he was whispering. He pulled out a blue deck box. He took out the deck of cards and placed them in the deck holding section of the duel disk. The cards were all in blue plastic cases. He pushed a button on his duel disk and two hologram projectors flew out.

The boy was getting ready to do the same when the figure put his right hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "Let me handle this. If I lose, you are to run. Whatever you do, you can't duel this guy. Is that understood? Good". The figure's had bore an insignia as well. This one was different however. He pulled out a deck in green cases and set up his duel disk. Both players drew five cards and duel began.

The stranger drew a sixth card and declared his first turn. "I summon the Sonic Bird (A1400, D1000) in attack mode. This allows me to search my deck for a ritual magic card and put it in my hand. Then I place one card face down. I will end my turn here", he said as he laid one card on the top of his duel disk and slipped one in a slot on the underside. An image of an eagle with sky diving goggles and a rocket strapped to its back appeared from the projectors. Behind it was a brown card with a black oval in the middle.

The figure started is turn by drawing as well. "I summon the Mystical Elf (A800, D2000) in defense mode. I will the end my turn by setting three cards face down. Three brown cards appeared behind the image of a blue woman with long golden hair. She was wearing a green dress and speaking softly.

The stranger drew another card from his deck and grinned. "I tribute my Sonic Bird for the Summoned Skull (A2500, D1200) in attack mode", he said as he removed the monster on his duel disk and replaced it with a different one. This monster was a gigantic muscular skeleton with horns and wings. "I will send Summoned Skull to destroy your Mystical Elf with Lightning Strike for my finishing move". The skeleton released a surge of electricity from its claws and the Mystical Elf was destroyed.

The figure shielded his face with his arms so no dust would get in his eyes. He drew a card and frowned. "I play my Shallow Grave magic card. We both select one monster from our graveyards and summon them in face down defense mode". The image of a card with a monster crawling out of a grave formed from the projectors. Both of them took the only monsters in their graveyards. Two horizontal, brown cards formed on the field. "Next I reveal my Raigeki Break trap card. As long as I send one card from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy one card on your side of the field. I choose to destroy your Summoned Skull. I will end my turn". One of the cards flipped up revealing a picture of a monster being electrocuted. The Summon Skull then burst into pieces.

The stranger drew another card. He placed it with the rest of the cards in his hand. He then selected a different card and said, "I lay a monster in face down defense mode for my turn". Another horizontal card appeared next to the monster he got from the Shallow Grave.

The figure looked at his right hand. The insignia had begun to glow. A dark, purplish light was issuing from the back of his hand. Th stranger's insignia on his hand was glowing as well. Then out of nowhere, a black cloud came over the figure, the stranger, and the boy. The boy's necklace started to glow and the boy seemed different. He still looked the same, but it was easy to tell that he had changed in some way.

The figure drew a card and looked as if he wasn't sure whether it was good or not. He decided to lay the card on his duel disk. "I call on the power of the Time Wizard (A500, D400)". A clock with arms, legs, and eyes appeared on the figure's side of the field. In the clocks right hand was a magic wand type of object and it wore a cape. "I end my turn", the figure said.

The stranger grinned even before he drew his card. He looked at what he drew and his grin grew wider. "First I summon my Harpie's Brother (A1800, D600) in attack mode. Then I flip up my Spear Cretin (A500, D500). When Spear Cretin is flipped up, we both take one card from our graveyard and summon it to the field in any position you want. I choose to bring back the Summoned Skull in attack mode", he said as he flipped up a face down card and played two more on his duel disk. Harpie's Brother resembled a man with red wings and a giant red claw. It wore a red mask on its face. Spear Cretin looked like a little goblin with wings. It was holding a spear in its right hand. Beside the two, the Summoned Skull appeared as good as new.

On the figure's side of the field appeared a blue human wearing black armor. It had big horns on the top of its head and long black hair. In its right hand was a long black scepter. "This is my Magician of Black Chaos (A2800, D2600). This is the card I sent the graveyard with Raigeki Break. He is also my favorite monster", the figure said.

The stranger laughed and said, "It doesn't matter to me what monster it is. Because it is mine now. I reveal my face down card, the Change of Heart. This magic card permits me to take control of one monster on your side of the field for one turn". The Change of Heart card appeared on the field. It was a picture of an angel that is half-light, half-dark.

The figure pushed a button on his duel disk and said, "Activate quick play magic card, Mystical Space Typhoon. This magic card destroys one of your magic or trap cards. I choose your only magic card, the Change of Heart". Mystical Space Typhoon was a picture of a tornado with lightning.

The stranger clenched is free hand into a fist and said, " I switch my Summoned Skull into defense mode and end my turn".

The figure drew the card on the top of his deck. This one wasn't in a green case. This case was a darker shade of red. He stared at it for awhile before putting it with the rest of his hand. "Magician of Black Chaos, attack his Harpie's Brother with Chaos Scepter Blast". The Magician of Black Chaos began to swing its staff around like a baton. It struck the ground and began forming a ball of black electricity. The ball flew at the Harpie's Brother, blasting it to pieces. The stranger lost life points equal to the difference between the Magician of Black Chaos and Harpie's Brother.

Dark Figure Hooded Stranger

8000 7000

The stranger drew a card and added it to his hand. He began moving his hand over different cards. He was having trouble deciding which to play. He finally settled on one. "My next monster is the Cure Mermaid (A1500, D800) in defense mode. For every turn that she remains face up on my side of the field, I gain 800 life points, starting next turn. But for now, I end this turn". The Cure Mermaid was a blonde-haired mermaid with red scales on her tail.

The figure drew a card and kept it in his hand. He had a plan to defeat the stranger. But to do it, he needed a few more cards in his hand. He didn't attack right away. He was debating whether to attack the Cure Mermaid or the Summoned Skull. It didn't take him very long to decide. "Magician of Black Chaos, destroy his Cure Mermaid with Chaos Scepter Blast". The Magician of Black Chaos blasted another ball of black electricity. When the smoke cleared, the Cure Mermaid was gone. "Here ends my turn", he said.

The stranger once again started his turn by drawing a card and saying, "I activate the power of my magic card, Dian Keto the Cure Master. This card increases my life points by 1000 points. I end my turn". Dian Keto the Cure Master was a picture of an old lady with green hair holding a crystal ball.

Dark Figure Hooded Stranger

8000 8000

The figure drew what was to be the fourth card in his hand. He placed it behind the other cards and sent his magician into battle. "Magician of Black Chaos, annihilate his strongest monster. Attack his Summoned Skull with Chaos Scepter Blast". In a dark flash, the giant skeleton was gone. "What are you going to do now? I have just destroyed the strongest monster on your side of the field".

The stranger drew a card and faked a grin. He was trying to make the figure think he had drawn a good card. "You think you have this thing one. Well it is just getting started. I haven't even used any of my best cards. I will set one card face down and summon the Giant Soldier of Stone (A1300, D2000) in defense mode and end my turn. A brown card appeared behind the stranger's monsters. Then a giant statue of a warrior made entirely out of stone formed in front of the stranger.

The figure drew a card from his deck and began to grin and laugh at the same time. "As a matter of fact, I do have this duel won. I sacrifice the Magician of Black Chaos, Time Wizard, and my face down monster for one of the most powerful cards in Duel Monsters, Slifer the Sky Dragon (AX000, DX000)". A giant, red, serpent-like dragon emerged from the hologram projector. I wrapped itself around the entire edge of the black cloud several times. Slifer was a gargantuan monster. It had a black underside. Its head had horns and there was a second, smaller mouth above the first on. "Slifer is one of the three Egyptian God Cards. That means he unaffected by magic and trap cards. He also gains 1000 attack points for every card in my hand. I currently have four giving Slifer 4000 points. Slifer, show him your strength by obliterating all three of his monsters, Lightning Breath Cannon". Slifer fired a beam of concentrated energy, destroying all three of the stranger's monsters.

The stranger removed all of his cards from his duel disk and stuffed them back in his deck box. He then recalled his hologram projectors and the insignia on his hand quit glowing. The black cloud dissipated. "You are lucky that you have that dragon. Without it, you would have lost that duel for sure. Next time we duel, you won't be as lucky", he said. Then he jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and ran off at full speed.

The figure put his cards away and retracted his projectors. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He called the same number he had called earlier. "Are you on your way? Do you have him? What's going on?" the voice asked.

"I have him. He is standing right next to me. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him yet. I had a run in with whichever one it was", the figure said. He spoke so calmly for someone who just had an intense duel.

"Well since I am talking to you, I assume you won. Good. But you need to bring him here as soon as possible. But don't tell him anything about us until he is here. Is that understood?" the voice commanded.

"Yeah, I know what I have to do. We have been over this enough times that I can recite your little speech in my sleep. We'll be right there", the figure said and hung up. He slipped his phone back into his pocket. "You. Your name is Yugi Moto. I have been sent to come and retrieve you. I have already told you, you're in danger here. We have to get back to my friends. Quickly, come".

"Wait. How can I trust you? I don't even know who you are. Before I come with you, I have some questions that need answering. Who are you? Who was that? How is it that you were able to take us to the Shadow Realm? And where did you obtain Slifer the Sky Dragon?" Yugi asked.

"I can't tell you my name here. But I am a member of group that is trying to protect the world. That was one of the people that want to take your necklace away from you. I don't know who he is exactly. I've never seen him before. Both of us have an insignia on our right hands. These are how we traveled to the Shadow Realm. And as for Slifer, I received him the same day that I got my insignia. I'll tell you more when we get there. But we can't stay out in the open. Just follow me", the figure said. He spoke very quickly. When he stopped talking, he turned around and began running back to the building he had been watching Yugi from. Yugi ran after him. They turned left when they came to where the roads intersected. They continued down the street for awhile before turning right. There were houses on this road. They ran down the lane and stopped in front of a house. It was fair sized house with a well-kept yard. On the right side was an abandoned house that was boarded up. It also had yellow police tape around it. The house on the left was another good house.

"What happened to that house?" Yugi asked when he saw the yellow tape.

"I'm not really sure. It was there when my partners and I moved in to our house. I think there was a murder in there though. But the tape has been there for nearly twenty years", the figure responded. He walked up to the house and unlocked it. He led Yugi to the basement. It was too dark to see anything. Yugi turned on the lights. "Turn those off. We can't have any light down here. What we need is shadow", the figure said as the insignia on his hand began to glow. He held it up to the wall and a door materialized. They went through it and stepped into a well-lit room.

"It's about time you got here. We were beginning to think you ran into another one of them". Said the voice from the phone. The speaker was sitting on a couch against the right wall. He had bright blue eyes. He had brown hair that ran just below his chin. He was wearing a black and white shirt with a picture of a Scarface on it with blue jeans. He also had a dark blue, hooded, zip up sweatshirt and a belt and black deck box attached to it. On his left arm was a duel disk and an insignia on his right hand. This insignia was a red circle with a symbol resembling a flame on its side. The figure's insignia was a purple circle with a triangle in the middle. The triangle had a circle on each side.

"No, it was just the one. I still feel cold from sensing him. I can't wait until it wears off. And it's not my fault it took so long. I wasn't even running. He was slowing me down", the figure said, pointing at Yugi.

The speaker laughed and stood up. He walked over to Yugi and said, "Don't worry about it. He's just kidding. So, you're the one they are after. I don't see what the big deal is". He touched the golden pyramid on Yugi's necklace. The eye and the insignia began to glow. Another person walked into the room from a hallway. He had blonde hair that stopped a bit above his eyebrows. He had dark brown eyes that were slightly magnified by his glasses. He was wearing a gray and a black T-shirt of System of a Down/ Steal this Album under a gray sweatshirt and black jeans. There was a clear deck box on his belt. He had a duel disk on his left arm. He bore a green insignia on his right hand. The insignia was a circle with five crescents in the middle.

"Now that I'm here, I have some questions that need answering. Who are you guys? What are those on your hands? And what do you want with me?" Yugi asked as he looked at all three of them. The figure stepped forward.

"Okay, I told you that we are a group that is trying to protect the world. My name is Karl. That is James", the figure said, pointing to the speaker. "And the guy back there is Josh. We have been chosen to bear three of the eight emblems. The eight Emblem Knights are a power that is more ancient than that of the Millenium Items. They are chosen to protect the Pharaoh. The other five however have decided to turn against you. The insignias on our hands show that we are the Emblem Knights. These were the first magic to access the Shadow Realm. The also increase our dueling potential. Our emblems are the ones that prophecy said would turn away from you, being that I am shadow, James if fire, and Josh is forest. They seem to have gotten that wrong. The other five want your Millenium Puzzle. The need it to create the most powerful cards in the world. Does that answer your questions?"

"I have one more. You have Slifer the Sky Dragon in your deck. I know you got it when you received your insignia. But where did you get it. It was stolen from me about a year ago and it disappeared. I need you to return it. It is a very dangerous card", Yugi said.

"I'm not sure where it came from. I had a dream in which I received the card. And when I awoke, it was in my deck. I'm sorry it was stolen from you. But I can't give it to you. It only comes out for me. James and Josh have both tried to use it. I've lent it to them when we have practice duels and they never draw it. And I somehow draw it out of my deck. It just keeps appearing in my deck. But, I will duel you for it. If you win, it's yours", Karl offered.

"I accept. But afterward, I have to call my friends. They will start to get worried when I don't show up at the arcade. But let's start this duel", Yugi answered. Karl led him to an empty room. It was bigger than the any room the house could have in it. The two of them placed their decks in their duel disks.

Karl launched the hologram projectors and said, "I will go first. Oh, and by the way, I hope you don't expect me to go easy on you because you're the pharaoh". Karl drew his first hand. He then drew a sixth card to start his turn. He grinned, obviously pleased with his hand. He seemed especially happy with a card in a golden case. "I start by playing two cards face down. Then I summon Opticlops (A1800, D1700). I end my turn". Opticlops was a muscular Cyclops with a sharp horn on its head. It appeared before Karl and two brown cards formed behind it.

Yugi launched his projectors and drew his six cards to start with. "I start with Big Shield Gardna (A100, D2600) in defense mode. I will end my turn by playing one card face down", he said. A man with long black hair and a giant shield appeared along with a brown card.

Karl drew his card. "I set a third card face down. I then call on my Lord of Dragons (A1200, D1100) to join Opticlops on the field. I will end my turn here, Yugi", he said. A card formed behind a man in a brown suit. He wore a mask made from a dragon skull that hid most of his face and a cape.

Yugi started his turn by drawing and laying his card on his duel disk. "I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior (A1500, D1800) in defense mode. Gamma has just enough defense points to stand up to your Opticlops". A monster made out of pink metal appeared on the field. It had a giant red S on its stomach and wings on its back. "I end my turn", he said.

Karl drew from his deck and had a disappointed look on his face. He obviously didn't draw the card he wanted. "I summon my Mystical Elf in defense mode. Then I end my turn", he said. The same blue woman appeared next to the Lord of Dragons.

Yugi drew a card a smiled. "I play my Black Luster Ritual magic card. By offering a total of eight stars, I can summon the Black Luster Soldier (A3000, D2500) in attack mode". Black Luster Ritual was a picture of two swords in front of a door with a torch on either side. Both of Yugi's monsters flew into one a torch and the door opened. Out flew a man in black and green armor holding a sword in his right hand and a shield in the left. "Black Luster Soldier, destroy hi Lord of Dragons with your Thunder Sword Strike". The Black Luster Soldier struck the ground and lightning shot at the Lord of Dragons.

Karl pushed a button on his duel disk and one of the face down cards flipped up. It was a picture of three women in blue robes and clothes on their heads. "Reveal trap card, Waboku. This card negates the attack of one monster. Your attack is blocked", he said. The women formed in front of the lightning.

Yugi frowned. "Since I have nothing left to do, I will end my turn. But on my next turn, you will feel the full force of the Black Luster Soldier", he said.

Karl drew a card and added it to the rest of his hand. "I was going to wait a few more turns to do this, but I don't have much time now. I will combine Opticlops with the Megamorph magic card. This card will double the attack of my Opticlops as long as I don't have higher life points than you. Next I will offer the Mystical Elf, Lord of Dragons, and Opticlops for a monster with limitless strength. I summon the mighty Winged Dragon of Ra (A, D?) in attack mode". Ra was another gargantuan monster. It had the head of a golden head of a bird. But it had the body of a dragon. There were claws on its hands and feet. There were also dragon wings and tail. "Ra is immune to all magic and trap cards because it is a god card. And the monsters that were offered for it determine its attack points. So it gained 800 from the Mystical Elf, 1200 from the Lord of Dragons, and 3600 from Opticlops. That gives Ra a total of 5600 attack points. Now Ra, attack his Black Luster Soldier with your Burning Dragon Breath". Ra's mouth, which was closed, had fire trying to escape. The Winged Dragon of Ra opened its mouth and a stream of fire struck the Black Luster Soldier. When the fire subsided, the Black Luster Soldier was gone. "Yugi, I am offering you the chance to give up before I attack again. Will you surrender?" Karl asked.

"Come on Karl, that's not fair to the Pharaoh. He had no way to know that you also had the Winged Dragon of Ra. You cheater", James called from the viewing room up near the ceiling. He and Josh were watching Karl and Yugi's duel.

Just then, the Millenium Puzzle started glowing. When it stopped, Yugi seemed to be the different person again. "I will never back down. I am here to win back my Slifer".

Karl grinned as he looked into Yugi's eyes and said, "It is so nice to finally meet you Pharaoh. I have waited for this day for too long. If you're sure you want to continue, then I will end my turn".

Karl Yugi

8000 5400

Yugi drew a card and looked slightly disappointed. "I summon Kuriboh (A300, D200) in attack mode. I will then play one card face down. I will end my turn here", he said. Kuriboh was a ball of brown fur with big eyes. It also had little green arms and legs. It took shape in front of a second brown card on Yugi's side of the field.

Karl drew a second card for his hand. He looked at it and thought. "I play my Dian Keto the Cure Master. This card increases my life points by 1000 points. Now I don't know why anybody would play such a weak monster in attack mode but I'll attack it anyway. Winged Dragon of Ra, blast away that fur ball with Burning Dragon Breath", he said. Ra shot a stream of fire at Kuriboh

Yugi pressed a button on his duel disk. The card he played face down on his last turn flipped up and revealed a picture of a monster that was separating. "Activate magic card, Multiply. This will multiply any monster with an attack of 500 or less limitless times. Each Kuriboh contributes 300 attack points to the total, making a wall of limitless power", he said

Karl laughed as he pushed a button on his duel disk, too. "I'm afraid your wall won't be that helpful. Not after I use this trap card. Reveal face down Magic Jammer", he said. Magic Jammer was a picture of a magic circle with steam billowing out of it. "For the cost of one card in my hand, I can negate the activation of one of your magic cards. So I will discard the last card in my hand to destroy your Multiply". All of the Kuribohs disappeared right before the Winged Dragon of Ra's attack passed over it. Kuriboh was gone when Ra's attack was over. "I end my turn. It would be wise for you to give up now".

Karl Yugi

8000 100

"I never quit. I will keep fighting until I lose all of my life points", Yugi said as he drew a card. "I activate my Pot of Greed magic card". Pot of Greed is a picture of a green pot with a guilty grin for a face. "This magic card allows me to draw two cards from my deck. I play the Dark Hole magic card. You seem to forget that the god cards can be destroyed if the card doesn't target just one monster. And Dark Hole destroys all monsters on the field. Next I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (A1600, D1000) in attack mode. Breaker, attack his life points directly with Magical Sword Slash. I will end my turn now". Dark Hole's card had a picture of a black hole. The black hole sucked in The Winged Dragon of Ra. Then a man in red armor appeared on the field. In his right hand was a long sword and a shield was in his left. He swung his sword and hit Karl.

Karl Yugi

6400 100

Karl pulled another card out of his deck slot. This was the only card in his hand. The card wasn't what he had been hoping for, but it would do. "I play one card face down on the field and end my turn", he said.

Yugi drew and smiled. "I offer my Breaker the Magical Warrior for the Dark Magician Girl (A2000, D1800)". A cute, blonde girl in blue armor flew out of the card. She had a short staff that swirled at the end in her left hand. "Dark Magician girl, attack his life points directly with Dark Burning Attack". Dark Magician Girl let loose a pink ball of magic that flew at Karl.

Karl pushed a button on his duel disk and the card he played face down last turn flipped face up. "Reveal trap card, my second Waboku card. Once again, I negate your attack", he said.

Yugi's smile turned into a sneer as the three women stopped his attack again. "I will end my turn. I think you should give up now and just give me my Slifer", he said.

"Not a chance. I will win this duel and keep Slifer", Karl said. He drew a card and grinned bigger than ever. "Prepare to lose Yugi. I have just drawn a monster that can win this for me. I summon Giant Orc (A2200, D0) in attack mode". Giant Orc looked like a gray, muscular, fat troll with a brown loincloth. It held a giant club in its hands. "Giant Orc, attack the Dark Magician Girl with your Bone Club and take out the rest of Yugi's life points". The Giant Orc hit the Dark Magician Girl with its club and she was shattered. Yugi's life point meter hit zero and the holograms faded away. "Well Pharaoh, think I know how to manage the god cards. In my personal opinion, I think I can handle Slifer and Ra just fine".

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you keep them. But if you start to feel weak from using them, you must promise to give them to me", Yugi said as he put his cards back in his deck box. He retracted the projectors and walked over to Karl. "I need to call my friends to tell them I'm okay. They will get worried".

"I understand. Here you can use my cell phone. The other five have every other phone in the world bugged. Cell phones are the only way to have a private conversation", Karl said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He handed it to Yugi and Yugi dialed a number. Karl heard someone say hello as they answered the phone.

"Hey Joey. I know I'm not at the arcade. Something came up. But I'm fine. I hope you guys aren't mad", Yugi said.

A voice echoed through the phone. "Hello Pharaoh. Are you looking for your friends? They're right here. But I think there's something wrong. They're not acting normal. Why don't you come by the arcade? Come alone. Goodbye", the voice said and hung up.

Yugi closed the phone and said, "I have to go. My friends are in danger. They said I have to come alone. I want to thank you for telling me about these guys. I will return when my friends are safe". Yugi ran out of the dueling chamber and out of the house. He was headed for the arcade.

James walked into the dueling room and stopped in front of Karl. "You do know they're going to jump him", he said.

Karl sighed and said, "Yeah. I'll go and keep an eye on him. I just hope he's not one of those people that try to do stupid things".

"Karl, be careful", James said as Karl ran at full speed out of the house. He was going at such enormous speeds, Josh was unaware what had taken his soda.

Yugi arrived at the arcade about a ½ an hour after he called his friend. The lights were out. He walked inside and the lights turned on by themselves. He saw two people standing at the other end of the arcade. One of them was wearing a black cloak on the forehead of the cloak was a white insignia. It was a circle with a blue cross in the middle. The same insignia was on his right hand. There was a duel disk on his left arm. The other person had blonde hair and golden eyes. He was wearing a white T-shirt underneath a denim jacket. He was hearing blue jeans as well. There was a duel disk on his left arm. "Joey! Are you okay? I got here as soon as I could. What's going on?" Yugi asked.

Joey held his right hand up. The same emblem with the cross was on his hand. "I have joined with them. It isn't as bad as you might have been told. I actually feel stronger Yug'", he said. Joey had an accent like a gangster.

"Joey, what have they done to you? They're lying to you. You must listen to me. These are bad people", Yugi said. He took a few steps toward Joey before the cloaked person held up his duel disk. And launched the projectors.

"Silence Pharaoh. Your friend isn't listening to you. He is one of us now. Now either hand over the Millenium Puzzle or prepare to lose your mind to the shadows", the cloaked person said, setting his deck in duel disk. He pushed a button and his duel disk prepared for the duel. Joey also got his duel disk ready for a duel.

"Speaking of shadows, how about we have a double duel", said a voice behind Joey. He turned around to see his shadow. His shadow had a pair of bright blue eyes that were staring back at him. Karl emerged from the shadow and activated his duel disk.

"Fine. Our master will be glad to know that we have rid him of on of the Emblem Knights as well as the Pharaoh. Prepare to lose your minds", the cloaked person. His voice was deeper than most people Karl had ever heard.

All four duelists drew there opening hands to start the duel. Karl was the first to draw a sixth card and start his turn. "I will begin this duel by summoning La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (A1800, D1000) in attack mode and setting one card face down. That will do it for me", he said. A giant, muscular, green genie appeared on the field followed by a brown card.

The cloaked man took the first turn for his team. He started by drawing and said, "I set one monster face down in defensive mode. Next I set two more cards face down. I will end my turn by activating my Tribute to the Doomed. If I send one card to the graveyard, I can destroy one monster on the field. I will destroy this card to kill your La Jinn. I end my turn". One horizontal card appeared with two other brown cards. Tribute to the Doomed was a picture of a mummy wrapping up another mummy.

Yugi was the next person to take his turn. He added the card to his hand and played another card on the duel disk. "I summon Baron of the Fiend Sword (A1550, D800) in attack mode. Then I play two cards face down and end my turn", he said. A demonic pig in a tuxedo and a bowler appeared on the field in front of two more brown cards. The monster was holding a black sword with a red aura in its right hand.

Joey drew his card. Karl noticed the emblem on Joey's hand and his eyes grew wide. Joey placed the card he drew on his duel disk. "I summon my Baby Dragon (A1200, D800) in defense mode. Next I set one card face down to end my turn", he said. Out of the projectors came a tiny, orange dragon with little wings.

Karl drew a card to start his second turn. He smiled at his card when he saw it. But the smile was quickly replaced by a frown when he looked at the rest of his hand. He picked another card out of his hand and said, "I set a monster down in defense mode as well for my turn".

The cloaked man grinned and drew a card from his deck. "I summon my Grave Keeper's Guard (A1000, D1900) in attack mode. Next I'll equip him with two magic cards. The first one is Malevolent Nuzzler. This will increase my monster's attack points by 700. My second card if Fairy Meteor Crush. Now no matter what position your monsters are in, you will lose life points when they are destroyed. Grave Keepers Guard, attack the Emblem Knight's face down monster with Shattering Bow Staff", the cloaked man said. The Grave Keeper's Guard was a fat, bald man in a vest. He held a silver staff in his right hand. Malevolent Nuzzler was a picture of a green woman with blue hair and long red fingernails. He slammed his staff on the brown card in front of Karl.

"Ha, you attacked my Man Eater Bug (A450, D600). When it's flipped face up, it destroys one monster on the field. I'll have it destroy the Grave Keeper's Guard", Karl said. Man Eater Bug was an ugly brown bug with big claws.

"I know what Man Eater Bug does. I have one of my own. In fact I'll activate it right now on the Pharaoh's Baron of the Fiend Sword", the man said as his face down monster flipped up and killed Yugi's monster. "I will end my turn".

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 8000 8000 8000

Yugi drew a card and said, "I set one card face down. Joey, listen to me. Please stop. You have to listen. I'm trying to help you. The people you are working for are trying to endanger the world".

"Pharaoh don't waste your breath. He belongs to them now", Karl said. "They have a hold on him. Nothing will break through to him. That emblem on his hand is the Ninth Emblem. The Emblem Knights give it to people so that we may force them to do what we say. The color of the cross tells whom they are being controlled by. It is blue which means the one I dueled earlier was the one that found your friend. I'm sorry about this Pharaoh, but I have to do this". Karl held up his right hand and his insignia began to glow. The same black cloud surrounded the four duelists. They were trapped in the Shadow Realm. The duel had officially become a Shadow Game.

"Ugh, I always coming to this place", Joey complained. He drew a card from his duel disk. "I summon my mighty Gearfried the Iron Knight (A1800, D1600) in attack mode. Gearfried, attack Yugi's life points directly with Iron Wrist Blades". Gearfried was a man in cold black armor with blades on the wrists.

"Reveal trap card, Waboku. With this card, I can negate the attack sent at Yugi and prevent damage to his life points", Karl said as he flipped up his Waboku card. The three women moved in front of Gearfried and absorbed the attack.

"Thank you Karl. But now you have no defenses", Yugi said puzzled. He couldn't understand why Karl would make himself defenseless. "You really should be more careful of what you do. You're wide open for an attack and have nothing to defend yourself with".

"Think nothing of it Yugi. I'll be fine. I don't plan on being attacked without having a defense", Karl replied. He drew a card and said, "I begin my third turn. Hm, this is just what I needed. I summon the Royal Magical Library (A0, D2000) in attack mode. Next I activate the magic card, Black Luster Ritual. I will offer my library and the Mystical Elf in my hand for a total of eight stars. That is all I need to summon the Black Luster Soldier. Black Luster soldier, obliterate Joey's Baby Dragon with Thunder Sword Strike". Royal Magical Library was a platform with a pile of books on it. As soon as it was summoned, it disappeared and the Black Luster Soldier took its place. The Black Luster Soldier struck the ground with its sword and lightning flew into the Baby Dragon, killing it. "I end my turn".

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 8000 6200 8000

The cloaked man drew a card for the start of his turn. "I set one card face down on the field for my turn", he said.

Yugi drew again. "I call on the powers of my Skilled Dark Magician (A1900, D1700). Skilled Dark Magician, attack the Man Eater Bug with your Dark Magic Attack", he said. Skilled Dark Magician wore a gray cloak with a battle helmet. In its left hand was a scepter. The Skilled Dark Magician pointed its staff at the bug in front of the man and sent an orb of black magic toward it. The orb struck it and blew up. "I end my turn".

Joey then drew his card. "Your time is running short Yug'. I tribute my Gearfried the Iron Knight to summon my Blow Back Dragon (A2300, D1200) in attack mode", he said. His Blow Back Dragon was a robotic proton cannon that became a dragon at the waist. "It's not only super strong, it has a special effect. I flip three coins and call them in the air. If two out of three are right, I get to choose one of your monsters to destroy. So let's go, I call two heads and one tails". Joey flipped three coins in the air. They came down in the following order; heads, tails, tails. "Drat! Oh well, at least I'll take out one of you monsters. Blow Back Dragon, blast away the Skilled Dark Magician with your mighty proton blast". The Blow Back Dragon charged a blue proton in the cannon and fired it at the Skilled Dark Magician, which resulted in it dying. "I end my turn".

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 7600 6200 8000

Karl drew a card, signaling his next turn. "I have nothing that I can play, so I'll skip right to my battle phase. I send my Black Luster Soldier to attack the Blow Back Dragon with Thunder Sword Strike", he said. The Blow Back Dragon was charged full of electricity and exploded. "I end my turn".

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 7600 5500 8000

The cloaked man was drawing his card as Joey's life point meter began to drop again. "I summon the Mad Sword Beast (A1400, D1200) in attack mode. Now Mad Sword Beast, attack the Pharaoh's life points directly with Ramming Sword Thrust", the cloaked man called. The Mad Sword Beast resembled a rhino. But instead of a horn on its head, there was a blade. The Mad Sword Beast charged at Yugi.

"Reveal face down trap card, Mirror Force", Yugi said as he pushed one of the buttons on his duel disk. Mirror Force was a picture of a blue shield pushing away a red charge of energy. "Mirror Force is one of the most powerful trap cards in the game. It reflects an opponent's attack back at them and destroying every monster that is in attack mode on their side of the field. So say goodbye to your Mad Sword Beast". The Mad Sword Beast ran into the Mirror Force and was killed on contact.

"Grr, I end my turn for now", the cloaked man said.

"Then that makes it my turn", Yugi said. "I summon my Alpha the Magnet Warrior (A1400, D1700) in attack mode. Then I'll have him attack your life points directly with Electro Magnetic Sword", he said to the cloaked man. A monster made entirely out of metal and magnets appeared in front of Yugi. There was a sword in its right hand and a shield in the left. Alpha flew at the cloaked man with its sword reaching in front of it.

"I'm sorry Pharaoh, but I too have a face down card to block your attack. Reveal face down card, Waboku", the man said and laughed. He pushed a button on his duel disk and the same three women that were usually protecting Karl sprang up in front of Alpha, preventing him from hitting the man.

Yugi sneered as Alpha returned to its post in front of Yugi. "You laugh now, but what happens on Karl's turn when you are defenseless. Think about that", he said. The cloaked man stopped his laughing and had a look of complete shock on his face. "I end my turn".

Joey drew a card and said, "I summon my Panther Warrior (A2000, D1000) in attack mode. Then I set one card face down. Now, I flip up my magic card, Scapegoats. This card creates four Sheep Tokens (A0, D0) in defense mode. Now I'll offer one Sheep Token so Panther Warrior can attack Yugi's Alpha the Magnet Warrior with Deadly Sword of the Jungle". A panther with a big green cloak and a big sword in its hands materialized on the field followed by a brown card and four multicolored sheep. They were the same sheep as on the Scapegoats card. One of them disappeared and the Panther Warrior attacked Alpha. Alpha burst into pieces as the Panther Warrior struck it. "I end my turn".

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 7000 5500 8000

Karl drew another card. "Another unplayable card? If this keeps up, I'm never going to win this duel", he said. "Okay, I command my Black Luster Soldier to attack that guy's life points directly with Thunder Sword Strike. I end my turn". The Black Luster Soldier's lightning sprang from the ground and into the man.

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 7000 5500 5000

The cloaked man drew a card. "I activate my face down card. It is known as Card of Sanctity. It grants us each the privilege to draw until we hold six cards in our hands". A picture of people who were catching golden coins from the sky was flipped up when the man pressed a button on his duel disk. All four of them drew until they had six cards. "Now that my hand has been replenished, I set two cards face down and summon my Seven Colored Fish (A1800, D800) in defense mode. I end my turn", he said. The Seven Colored Fish was a long fish with rainbow scales and sharp tusks.

Yugi drew a card and grinned. "I summon my Kings Knight (A1600, D1400) in attack mode. Next I play a card face down on the field and end my turn". A brown card appeared behind a very noble and wise looking man. He had long golden hair with orange armor and a purple cape. There was a great sword in his right hand and a round shield in his left

Joey drew a card and smiled with satisfaction of what he drew. "I play my mighty Rocket Warrior (A1500, D1200) in defense mode. Next I will offer a Sheep Token to let my Panther Warrior attack. I choose it to attack the King's Knight with Deadly Sword of the Jungle".

Yugi pushed a button on his duel disk, causing a card to flip face up. "Reveal face down trap card, Dark Renewal. This card allows me to offer one of my monsters and one of my opponent's monsters to summon a spell-caster. I offer the King's Knight and Seven Colored Fish for the Dark Magician (A2500, D2100) in attack mode". A man with purple hair appeared on the field. He had an armor similar to the Dark Magician Girl's but it was more magnificent and had a cape. There was a scepter in his right hand.

"Luckily for me, when Dark Renewal is activated, my attack is negated so I don't lose life points or my monster. Then on your next turn, you have to skip your battle phase. I end my turn", Joey said trying to hide his frustration.

Karl drew another card and looked unsure whether to play the card or not. He looked at his deck. He saw the card on top and decided to not play the card. "I will ad this to my hand. Next I will set this monster face down in defense mode. Now Black Luster Soldier, attack the man with the cloak's life points directly, Thunder Sword Strike". The man was zapped from the electricity that came out of the Black Luster Soldier's sword again. "I end my turn".

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 7000 5500 2000

The cloaked man drew his next card. He looked very nervous. He didn't want to lose this duel or else he would lose his mind to the Shadow Realm. "I summon my Dancing Fairy (A1700, D1000) in defense mode. Now I place one card face down and end my turn", he said. A fairy in a white dress appeared in front of the man, along with a brown card.

Yugi drew a new card from his deck. The card he drew began to glow faintly as he looked at it. "I play The Eye of Timaeus. Next I will combine him with my Dark Magician to make the Amulet Dragon (A2500, 2100). But I am forced to end my turn". Yugi declared. "Joey please pay attention. Your team is already losing this duel. One more turn and your partner might be gone and you will be on your own. And you wouldn't stand a chance against the two of us". The Amulet Dragon was actually the Dark Magician in black armor on top of Timaeus.

"Yug, I am paying attention. But I don't want to stop. I like the guys I'm workin' for now. I have never felt this powerful. I will beat you two and take the Millenium Puzzle. Now, to start my turn", Joey said as he drew. His card was also glowing faintly. " Before I play this card, I offer my Rocket Warrior for Jinzo (A2400, D1500). Now I will play my dragon, The Claw of Hellmos. I combine it with Jinzo to create the Trap Neutralizing Sword. Only warriors and beast-warriors, like my Panther Warrior can hold this sword. Here's how it works. First it increases a monster by 1000 attack points. Next, it destroys all trap cards and each player takes 500 damage for every trap card they had sent to the graveyard. Then, my Panther Warrior gains 500 points for every trap card that was destroyed. But I can't attack this turn because of the Trap Neutralizing Sword's effect. But now my Panther Warrior has 5500 attack points. I end my turn". Jinzo was a bald-headed cyborg with a green dress and goggles. It was quickly turned into a sword that was the same color as its dress

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 6000 5000 500

Karl drew a card. This particular card was in a dark red case. Karl grinned when he drew it and placed it with the rest of his hand. "I will once again skip my main phase. But now my Black Luster Soldier, attack the Dancing Fairy with your Thunder Sword Strike". The Dancing Fairy blew up when the lightning struck it. "I end my turn", Karl said.

The cloaked man drew another card. He was very scared now that Yugi had played The Eye of Timeaus, Karl had the Black Luster Soldier, and he had 500 life points left. He could have cried when he saw the card he drew. It was completely useless. "I play one card face down and end my turn", he said.

Yugi drew and was disappointed that he hadn't drawn anything useful. "I don't play anything this turn. And I won't attack either. Joey, I want you to break free from this hold they have placed over you. Please Joey, before anybody gets hurt. I end my turn", he said.

Joey drew and added the card to his hand without looking at it. "Yug, I've already explained this. There is no hold on me. I am doing this with my own free will. This emblem isn't controlling me, it is just making me a better duelist. Now Panther Warrior, attack the Amulet Dragon with your Trap Neutralizing Sword", he commanded. The Panther Warrior swung its sword at the Amulet Dragon but it stopped right before the sword made contact. "Grr, I forgot that these dragon cards can't attack on another. I end my turn".

Karl drew with an excited look on his face. " First I reveal my face down monster, Magician of Faith. She will let me bring back one magic card from my graveyard. The only one in there is the Black Luster Ritual", he said. He pushed a button on his duel disk to flip up his monster. She was a little monster with purple hair and a purple robe. There was also a staff in her right hand. "Now I'll offer the Magician of Faith, my face down monster, and the Black Luster Soldier to summon my Slifer the Sky Dragon". Slifer circled around the entire duel multiple times. Its head was several feet above Karl. "I have seven cards in my hand. This gives Slifer a grand total of 7000 attack points. Slifer activate your effect and weaken his monster with your top mouth, Deduction Ray". The top mouth on Slifer opened and fired a blue blaze of fire at the Panther Warrior. The attack made the Panther warrior drop 2000 attack points to 3500. "Now Slifer, attack Joey's Panther Warrior with Lightning Breath Cannon. I end my turn".

Karl Yugi Joey Cloaked Man

6900 6000 1500 500

Then cloaked man had begun to cry in fear. He knew no monster in his and Joey's deck combined could stop Slifer. He knew even his master had run from Slifer. He drew his card. He played it immediately. " I play the magic card Scapegoats. Now I have four sheep tokens of my own". The Sheep Tokens materialized on the field.

The instant they did, Slifer's top mouth opened again. "Slifer, blast those tokens away with Deduction Ray. You should know something, if you summon a monster while Slifer is in attack mode, than 2000 points are deducted from them. But if they can't give up 2000 points, then they are destroyed. That means all four of your tokens". Slifer destroyed the Sheep Tokens.

The man continued to weep. "I end my turn", he said.

Yugi drew a card. "I summon Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (A1500, 1200) in attack mode. Joey, I want you to think hard. If you haven't broken free of that emblem by my next turn, I will have no other choice than to attack you", he said. "I end my turn".

Joey drew what was to be his last card. "Nothing helpful! Forget this, I'm out of here", he said. The emblem on his hand started to glow and the black cloud started thinning out. But it was suddenly stopped and it thickened again. "What's going on here? Why can't I leave?"

"Because I won't let you Joey. My emblem is one of the original eight so it has more power then yours. And Yugi, I'm sorry, but Joey can't break free. As long as the one with the blue emblem, the emblem of water, than your friend is a slave to anything his master commands. The only way to save your friend is to lock him in the Shadow Realm".

Joey gulped. "I end my turn", he said.

Karl made the last draw of the game. "Perfect. First I'll activate my Mystical Space Typhoon. This card allows me to destroy one magic or trap card on the field. My target is Joey's Scapegoats and the rest of his Sheep Tokens", he announced. The Scapegoats card disappeared and so did Joey's Sheep Tokens. "Next I summon the Time Wizard. Time Wizard, attack that man's life points directly with Time Magic". The Time Wizard materialized in front of Karl. The Time Wizard threw a ball of blue magic at the cloaked man. He began to scream as the Shadow Realm began to pull him in. "Now Joey, I am sorry this duel has to end this way. Slifer the Sky Dragon, blast away Joey's remaining life points with your powerful Lightning Breath Cannon". Slifer fired another beam of lightning at Joey. When Slifer's attack stopped, Joey began to fade into the shadows. He was unconscious from Slifer's attack. The black cloud left them.

"How could you do that? Joey was my best friend and you just attacked him senselessly. I know I could have broken through to him", Yugi shouted at Karl. Karl began to put his cards back in his deck box.

He retracted his projectors and snapped, "Yugi, you have to understand. The Ninth Emblem can't be broken unless the person who casts the emblem onto the person is defeated. And a person sent to the Shadow Realm by an Emblem Knight can't be returned unless the Emblem Knight is defeated or he frees him. I know how hard it is to lose someone to the emblem. I've already lost two friends and my girlfriend. Do you know how hard it is to send your own girlfriend to the Shadow Realm? I don't think you do. So next time you start yelling at me about your losses, maybe you'll think before you speak".

Yugi looked surprised. He had never been yelled at like that in his life. He was a good kid and never got into trouble. "Oh, Karl I am very sorry. If I had any idea I wouldn't have yelled at you. So did you send all three of them to the Shadow Realm?" he asked.

Karl looked at the ground and said, "No, just Sabrina. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. She is why James is always telling me to be careful when I duel an Emblem Knight. I almost lost to her. I refused to attack and tried to make her break free. But I eventually realized that it was impossible. The Ninth Emblem is a magic that is more powerful than both the Millenium Rod and the Seal of Orichalcos. It actually depletes all of your will power. Come on, we shouldn't be in the open unless James and Josh are with us. The other five could pick us off easily. Besides, it's getting late". Karl and Yugi began to run back to the house. Karl opened the door and saw Josh sitting on a couch, starring at him. Josh started shaking a soda and stood up. He walked over to Karl and opened the soda and it exploded all over Karl.

It was 10:30 when they arrived. Karl found a bed for Yugi and told him that he was not to leave the house unless James, Josh, or he was with him. Karl lay awake for awhile. 'I can't believe I let them get to her. I was so stupid. I wasn't fast enough. But that's not going to happen again. Next time we meet, I will take you down. You who bears the gray emblem of wind, beware', he thought before he drifted into a foul sleep.

"Come on Karl, are we going to duel or not? I want to start this thing already", a girl's voice said. The girl had a pretty face and golden blonde hair. She had dazzling brown eyes. She was wearing a red shirt with blue jeans. On her left arm was a duel disk of her own. Karl noticed that there was something different about her. She didn't like to duel very often, especially not him. She was afraid of the Egyptian God cards that were in his deck.

"Are you feeling okay Sabrina? You never want to duel me. What's going on?" Karl asked as Sabrina shuffled her deck. Karl took out his deck and began to shuffle it as well.

"Of course I'm okay", Sabrina answered as a black cloud surrounded them. "In fact, I'm better than okay. I feel strong enough to take you down. Now let's start". It was then that Karl saw something on her right hand. It was an insignia much like his own. But this one was white and had a gray cross in the middle.

"Sabrina, did you do this? I know my emblem isn't activating. I would never think of bringing you to the Shadow Realm. And what is that insignia on your hand?" Karl asked. He was getting nervous. He didn't know if Sabrina could survive in the Shadow Realm. It was like a vacuum that sucked up one's will power.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did do this. This is the Ninth Emblem. A nice man in a gray cloak put it on me. Don't you like it? I got it so I could be like you. It makes me feel stronger. Now I want to start first. I summon my Prickle Fairy (A300, D2000) in defense mode. Next I set one card face down and end my turn", Sabrina announced. A green woman with a pink skirt and blonde hair appeared in front of a brown card. She had prickly vines for arms.

Karl drew a card from his deck. "I will play two cards face down. Now I summon to the field, La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp. But since your Prickle Fairy has more defense points than La Jinn can handle, I'll end my turn", he said.

Sabrina drew another card from her deck and put it into a slot on her duel disk. "I summon my Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1 (A1400, D1200) in defense mode. I end my turn". The Winged Dragon was a blue dragon with oversized wings and a huge jaw.

Karl began his second turn. "I activate my Fissure magic card. This card destroys the monster on your side of the field with the lowest amount of attack points. That means your Prickle Fairy. Now La Jinn, attack the Winged Dragon with Genie's Curse", he said. The Fissure card was a picture of a monster falling down a hole. La Jinn formed a white ball of energy in his hands and threw it at the Winged Dragon. "I end my turn".

Sabrina drew and frowned. "Why am I not drawing any useful cards? All I'm getting are these third rate monsters. Oh well, I summon the Feral Imp (A1300, D1400) in defense mode. That'll do it for this turn", she said.

Karl drew a card and grinned. He played a card and said, "I activate the ritual magic card known as Contract with the Abyss. This let's me ritual summon any dark monster. I'll tribute my Barrel Dragon from my hand to summon the Beast of Talwar (A2400, D2150)". Contract with the Abyss had a picture of blue energy flying out of a hole. The Beast of Talwar materialized in front of Karl. It was a muscular green monster with bright blue wings. There was a sword in both of its hands. "La Jinn, destroy her imp with Genie's Curse. Next, Beast of Talwar will attack your life points directly with Twin Blades of the Talwar". Both of Karl's monsters attacked Sabrina and her monster. "I end my turn".

Karl Sabrina

8000 5600

Sabrina drew and smiled at her promising hand. "First I summon my Rogue Doll (A1600, D1000) in attack mode. Next I flip up my magic card, Autonomous Action Unit. For the cost of 1500 life points, I can revive one of the monsters in your graveyard. I chose to bring back your Barrel Dragon (A2600, D2200) in attack mode. Now I'll activate its effect. When I flip three coins, I call them in the air and if two are right, you lose a monster. So I call three heads". Barrel Dragon was a mechanical dragon with proton cannons for arms and a face. It was brought back by a card with a picture of machines trying to rebuild them. The Rogue Doll was a golden doll with a purple cape and a staff in her left hand. The coins came down as all three heads. "Alright, I want to get rid of your Beast of Talwar. Next I want the Barrel Dragon to attack La Jinn with its Proton Blast. Now Rogue Doll, attack his life points with Scepter of Light. I think I have done enough damage for one turn, so I will end mine". Sabrina was obviously proud of herself.

Karl Sabrina

5600 4100

Karl drew the card on the top of his deck. He was disappointed in the card he drew. " I summon the Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode. I have nothing left to do, so I end my turn", he said as he played his rock monster.

Sabrina drew a card and giggled. " I will offer my Rogue Doll for my Dark Magician Girl. You remember this card don't you Karl? You gave it to me when I first became a duelist. Now I will activate Barrel Dragon's effect".

"Wrong! I reveal my face down trap card Dust Tornado. When I activate this, I can destroy one magic or trap card on the field. I will target your Autonomous Action Unit and destroy the Barrel Dragon", Karl said as he activated a card by pushing a button on his duel disk.

"Ooh, fine. Well I have nothing to do except end my turn. But on my next one, my Dark Magician Girl will be free to attack any of your monsters", she said with a frown on her pretty face.

"We'll see if you will actually get to attack", Karl said. He drew a card and was unsure about it. "I'm sorry sweetie, but it looks like you'll have to forget about attacking for at least another turn. I have nothing I can play. All that's out there for you is my Giant Soldier of Stone. I end my turn".

Sabrina drew a card and grinned. "I have one of those monsters with high defense, too. I summon my Prevent Rat (A500, D2000). Isn't he cute? Well, I have nothing to do so I'll end my turn", she said. Her new monster was a green rat with a big blue turtle shell.

Karl drew another card and grinned at first. Then he heard a voice in his head. 'Yes that is a good card. I would be excited to play it. But in the position you're in, I would think about the consequences. Don't try asking questions, I cannot hear you. But the emblem on the girl's wrist, I gave it to her. Think of it like a gift to her that helps me. With that, I have control of everything she does. Another thing, if she loses, her mind will be sealed in the Shadow Realm until I am defeated in a duel or I choose to set her free. And the same with you. So whichever one of you loses will remain in the Shadow Realm forever. Think about that before you play that card', the voice said.

Karl couldn't believe what he had heard. "I am just imagining things. That happens after long exposure to the Shadow Realm. Okay, I begin my turn by playing the magic card Dark Magic Ritual. As long as I offer a total of eight stars, I can summon my favorite monster, the Magician of Black Chaos. I'll offer my Giant Soldier of Stone on the field and this Dark Magician in my hand. Now I have monster stronger than any card in your deck. Magician of Black Chaos, attack with Chaos Scepter Blast and destroy her Dark Magician Girl", he said. The Dark Magic Ritual was a picture of the Dark Magician Star (Star of David) with two ritual torches and a blue fireball. The Magician of Black Chaos formed a ball of black electricity and fired it at the Dark Magician Girl. "I end my turn".

Karl Sabrina

5600 3300

Sabrina was in shock. "I don't understand how you could do that. How is it you were so quick to offer the monster I gave you for a monster that you would use to destroy the monster you gave me? I thought that our Dark Magicians were the most precious cards we owned. But If you want to go about destroying things that represent our relationship, than fine", she fumed. She then drew a card and smiled. "I summon my Milus Radiant (A300, D250) in defense mode. It has a special effect that increases all earth monsters by 500 attack points and decrease wind monsters by 400 attack points. Now it has 800 and Prevent Rat has 1300. I end my turn".

Karl drew a card. He now had a solemn expression on his face. "Sabrina I'm sorry. I didn't mean to destroy our Dark Magician cards. I wasn't paying attention to what monsters were being killed so I could get an advantage. Please forgive me. I play my Dian Keto the Cure Master to increase my life points by 1000. Magician of Black Chaos, attack her Prevent Rat with Chaos Scepter Blast. I end turn", he said.

Karl Sabrina

6600 3300

Sabrina was beginning to get worried. Karl had twice as many life points as her and his monster did have more attack points than any card she owned. Well, more than any of here monsters normally had. She drew a card. "I'm not sure if I will forgive you. It's not like you're going to be around much longer. You'll be trapped in the Shadow Realm forever as soon as I beat you. I summon the Karate Man (A1000, D1000) in attack mode. He gains 500 points from Milus Radiant so he's at 1500. Next I will activate his special effect. I can double his attack points and attack as long as I send him to the graveyard at the end of my turn. So with an attack of 3000, I'll send him to attack 'your favorite monster' with Black Belt's Chop", she said. Karate Man was a black man with an Afro and a yellow robe. He ran up and hit the Magician of Black Chaos with his hand and killed it. "I end my turn".

Karl Sabrina

6400 3300

Karl was surprised at Sabrina's last play. He should have seen it coming since he was the one that taught her that move. Sabrina was being serious, she was trying to keep him in the Shadow Realm. He was wondering what he did to mess up so badly. "I really am sorry Sabrina. Please take us out of here. Well if your not going to listen, then I'll just have to show you that you can't win", he said as he drew a card. His face fell when he saw how weak his monster was. "I summon the Spirit Reaper (A300, D200) in defense mode and end my turn". The Spirit Reaper was a golden skeleton in a purple cloak and a scythe in his right hand.

Sabrina drew a card and said, "We're not leaving. I'm with them now. They showed me that I could be stronger than even you. And look at me now. I have you on the defensive. They showed me that you never loved me. And you just proved it when you attacked my Dark Magician Girl with a monster you offered your Dark Magician for. I always thought that those cards were like symbols of us. I thought that if either one of us played our Dark Magicians, we could never lose. I guess I was wrong. I summon Witch of the Black Forest (A1200, D1100) in attack mode. Next I'll send her to attack your Spirit Reaper with Black Forest Spell". The Witch of the Black Forest was a purple hared woman with three eyes and a black dress. She threw a ball of black magic at the Spirit Reaper. When the smoke cleared, the monster was still there.

"Sabrina, did you forget my Spirit Reaper's special effect? It can't be destroyed in battle", Karl chuckled.

Sabrina felt stupid about making that mistake. She did that every time she dueled with Karl. " I will end my turn", she said.

Karl drew a card and grinned. "I'll offer my Spirit Reaper for the Summoned Skull in attack mode. Now my Summoned Skull will attack the Witch of the Black Forest with Lightning Strike", he said. The lightning put out by Karl's giant skull obliterated Sabrina's monster. "Sabrina you can break free from this guy's hold. I believe in you. You are strong enough. Use everything you have", he pleaded.

Sabrina laughed. "You act like I was forced into joining them. I did this of my own free will. Now, I summon the Witty Phantom (A1400, D1300) in defense mode. Next I play one card face down and end my turn", she said. A red monster with long blonde hair and a purple suit took shape in front of Sabrina along with a brown card.

Karl drew a card but didn't look at it. "I know that it isn't you saying that. Whichever one you met up is controlling you and is trying to make me sacrifice myself so you will be safe. And I would if I trusted your safety with him. So to show that I'm not willing to win, I will switch my Summoned Skull into defense mode. I end my turn".

Sabrina looked puzzled. But the emotion was soon replaced by anger as she took in everything Karl had said. "What do you mean this isn't me saying this. Of course it is sweetheart. I am in complete control of myself. I appreciate what you're doing by switching your monster into defense mode, but I don't need your pity. There is nothing wrong. I offer Milus Radiant for Curse of Dragon (A2000, D1500) in attack mode and attack your Summoned Skull with Crimson Dragon Flames". Karl's skeleton was absorbed by flames and burned to ash. "Next I will switch my Witty Phantom into attack mode and attack your life points directly". The Witty Phantom punched Karl in the stomach. "I end my turn, sweetheart".

Karl Sabrina

5000 3300

Karl doubled over after getting punched by the Witty Phantom. He looked up at the golden, spiked dragon played by Sabrina. He drew a card. "I offer Summoned Skull, Beast of Talwar, and La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp from my graveyard in order to summon my Dark Necrofear (A2200, D2800). Dark Necrofear, attack Curse of Dragon with Death Spell. Next I play a card face down to end my turn", he said.

Karl Sabrina

5000 3100

Sabrina gulped. She knew Karl meant business. He rarely played the Dark Necrofear and had never used it against her. But she knew well enough what it did and much havoc it caused his opponents, even after it was destroyed. Her dragon was blasted to pieces when the black ball of energy hit it. She drew a card and sighed. "I summon the Dragon Piper (A200, D1800) in defense mode. That'll do it for this turn". In front of her appeared a purple pot with arms and a mouth. In its hands was a flute.

Karl drew another card. He still had a grim look on his face. He looked at his card and his face turned into a grin. "I activate the magic card known as Big Bang Shot. This card is just like Fairy Meteor Crush. That means no matter what position a monster attacked by Dark Necrofear is in, you lose life points. The only difference is, this card increases Dark Necrofear's attack points by 400 to 2600. Now Dark Necrofear, attack the Witty Phantom with Death Spell. I end my turn".

Karl Sabrina

5000 1800

Sabrina drew a card and began to giggle again. "I activate another one of the cards you gave me when I was first learning to duel. I activate the Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw until we have six cards. Now for the beginning of your downfall. First I summon Lord Poison (A1500, D1000) in defense mode". Lord Poison was a snake combined with a human wrapped in poison ivy and large spikes protruding from its body. "Next I activate two more magic cards, Monster Reborn to bring back my Dark Magician Girl, and Change of Heart to take control of your Dark Necrofear. My Dark Magician Girl is now powered up to 2600 because of the Dark Magician and Magician of Black Chaos in your graveyard. Now I'll send my monsters to attack your life points directly with Dark Burning Attack and Death Spell". The two monsters fired their attacks at Karl.

Karl quickly pushed a button on his duel disk. "Reveal face down trap card Riryoku Field. This destroys one magic card that designates a monster. And I choose to destroy Big Bang Shot and weaken my Dark Necrofear. Now on my next turn, Dark Necrofear will be removed from play and you won't have to suffer from its after effect".

Sabrina frowned. "I end my turn", she said in a pouty voice.

Karl Sabrina

400 1800

Karl drew a card but didn't bother to look at it. He already had a plan worked out. "I set one monster face down in defense mode and place on card face down. Next I activate my own Monster Reborn to summon back my Dark Magician. Now I'll have it attack the Dark Magician Girl with Dark Magic. And since I've brought back my Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl's attack is decreased to 2300", he said. The Dark Magician pointed his staff at its female counterpart and she was destroyed. "I end my turn".

Karl Sabrina

400 1600

Sabrina was stunned. She drew a card and said, "You monster! How is it that you are so cold to go and use your Dark Magician to destroy my Dark Magician Girl twice in one duel? I set one monster face down in defense mode and end my turn".

Karl drew a card as if she hadn't spoken. He had been keeping his face hidden by looking at the ground and letting his silver, spiked bangs hide his eyes. "I am very sorry about this Sabrina. But I realize that this is the only way to save you. Please forgive me for everything I have done. I promise to free you as soon as I can. And I never break my promises. I flip up my face down Magician of Faith to bring back my magic card Big Bang Shot. Next I'll combine it with my Dark Magician increasing his attack to 2900. Now attack Lord Poison with Dark Magic" The Dark Magician's attack hit Lord Poison and destroyed it. Sabrina's life point meter struck zero and the Shadow Realm began to assimilate her. "I am truly sorry Sabrina. I never wanted this to happen. But as soon as I can, I will set you free from the Shadow Realm and from their spell". He blinked back tears as he watched Sabrina fade away.

Karl woke up seconds later. He had a feeling of remorse that was reflected by his face. He walked into the main room of the underground house. Yugi and James were sitting at a table eating bowls of cereal. James looked up and saw Karl. "Let me guess, you had the dream again. Don't worry man, we'll get her back. And another thing, we need more food. I'm going out in a little bit to the grocery store. Wanna come?" he asked. Karl shrugged as he began looking for something to eat.

Yugi turned to James and asked, "What dream does he have? Is it like he can see bad things that are going to happen?"

James swallowed a mouthful of cereal before he spoke. "He told you about the Ninth Emblem and how he had to duel his girlfriend right. Well occasionally he has a nightmare in which he sees it happening. It is a very sad thing to watch. One night, Josh and I heard him talking in his sleep and we went into his room. The Shadow Emblem on his hand was glowing and his dream was being projected on the TV in his room. We saw how terrible it was to experience that. But he doesn't like to talk about it".

Karl walked out of the room and down to Josh's bedroom. He opened the door and saw Josh sitting on his bed. His eyes were red and had lines under them because he had been playing his Gamecube all night. "You know that's not good for you Josh. Hey man, James and I are going to get food in a little bit, do you want to get some fresh air or are you going to stay here". Josh shook his head, which meant he was staying.

Karl walked back to the main room and saw James putting on his blue sweatshirt and tying his shoes. "Pharaoh, I think it would be better if you stayed here with Josh. Practice your dueling or something but it would be unwise for you to come along. Don't expect much of a conversation from him though", James said. Karl put on his black sweatshirt and the two walked out the door. They ran down the street where Karl met Yugi. They followed this road until they came to a plaza. There was a grocery store along with a shoe store, a department store, a pharmacy, and different restaurants. There was a beauty parlor and a Karate studio. In the corner were a dance studio, a comic book store, and a Laundromat.

They began to cross the parking lot when James saw a black mark on the ground move. A boy walked out of the grocery store. He was short and had short brown hair. He had dark brown eyes. He wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans with a duel disk on his left wrist. There was an emblem with a gray cross in the middle. He ran into the parking lot where James and Karl got a better view of him. James spoke when he realized who it was. "You… you're a Duel Monsters regional champion. You're Bobby, the Guardian Duelist. It is an honor to meet you".

A man in the same cloak as the duelist Karl saved Yugi from landed from the sky beside Bobby. But this one had a gray cloak and a different emblem on the hood, the neck, and his hand. It was a gray circle with a spiral in the middle. Going down the spiral was a broken line. Karl took one look at him and became furious. "You're the one I've been looking for. You cast the spell that placed the Ninth Emblem on Sabrina. I'll get you back. Let's duel right now", he demanded.

The man laughed and said, "I would much like to test my emblem of Wind against yours of Shadow, but I am here for a different reason. I was sent to see how well my new Mind Slave fares in a duel. I don't even have my deck. But you were so excited to meet him Bearer of the Fire Emblem, how about you be his first opponent".

James activated his duel disk and placed his deck in the slot. "Okay, I've always dreamt of this day. Ready Bobby, I'm not holding anything back. I summon the Blazing Inpachi (A1850, D0) in attack mode. Next I set two cards face down. I end my turn", he said. Blazing Inpachi was a wooden statue of a man that was set ablaze.

Bobby drew a card and laughed. "I don't mean to be rude to one of my fans, but you call that an opening move. I'll show you how a pro does things. I summon Guardian of the Throne Room (A1650, 1600) in defense mode. Second, I play three cards face down to end my turn", he said. A machine made of gold with wheels for feet and a missile launcher on its back took shape in front of Bobby.

James looked skeptical as he drew his card. Bobby had summoned a weaker monster and said James made a bad opening move. "I summon the Gemini Elf (A1900, D900) in attack mode", he said as a twin set of elves appeared next to him. One was blonde and wore a blue dress. The other was redheaded and had a purple dress as well as being nearly a foot taller. "Blazing Inpachi, attack his Guardian of the Throne Room with Flaming Fist". James's monster punched Bobby's monster and shattered it. "Now my Gemini elves will attack your life points directly with Double Spell". The elves formed a ball of energy magic between them. It was a swirl of red and blue. They flung it at Bobby.

Bobby pushed a button on his duel disk and laughed again. "Reveal face down trap card Magic Cylinder. This card automatically negates and opponent attack and sends it back into their life points. Your attack has back fired", he said. The card had two cylinders with an arrow going in one and coming out of the other. The ball of magic flew into one cylinder and came out the other and hit James.

James was knocked down by the attack. He stood up and said, "I end my turn".

James Bobby

6100 8000

Bobby drew another card and grinned. "I summon my mighty Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (A1400, D1200) in defense mode. I know you're wondering what's so mighty about him. Well he has an effect the original Celtic Guardian doesn't. This monster can't be destroyed in battle by a monster of 1900 attack or higher. I end my turn here", he said. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian was a muscular man in brown and green armor and a helmet. There was a big sword in his right hand and he had a purple cape.

James drew a card and said, "I will now offer my Gemini Elves for the Chaos Command Magician (A2400, D1900). Next I will have Blazing Inpachi attack your monster with Flaming Fist". A new monster took the place of the Gemini Elves. This monster had Dark Magician armor only it stuck out more and was black.

Blazing Inpachi went to attack the Celtic Guardian when Bobby pushed another button on his duel disk. "Reveal my next face down trap card Mirror Force. This card stops your attack and sends it back at all of your monsters that are in attack mode". Mirror Force was a blue wall forcing away a red arrow.

James sneered as he helplessly watched his monsters be destroyed by his own attack. "I end my turn".

Bobby drew bit didn't look at his card. "I completely forgot to do this before. Please, allow me to do so now", he said as the emblem on his hand started glowing. The black cloud of the Shadow Realm surrounded the duelists, including Karl and the hooded man. "I activate my face down magic card Gravity Ax- Grarl. This card will now allow me to offer the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian for Guardian Grarl (A2500, D1000). Guardian Grarl, attack his life points directly with Gravity Ax". The Gravity Ax was an ancient ax with a blade on both sides. It was picked up by a dinosaur-looking monster and swung at James. James was lifted into the air by the ax and he fell on his butt. "I end my turn".

James Bobby

3600 8000

James stood up again and drew his card. "Crap this hurts worse than I remembered. And now if I lose, I not only lose the duel I've always wanted to win, I lose my mind. Okay, I activate my face down magic card Snatch Steal. This card lets me choose one monster on your side of the field and it becomes mine. But, you gain 1000 life points for every one of your standby phases that this card is on the field for. Now I steal your Guardian Grarl". Snatch Steal had a picture of a man in blue clothes stealing a bag from a man in red clothes.

Bobby pushed the button on his duel disk located above his face down card. "I'm sorry James. Tempting as an offer of 1000 life points a turn is, I'd like to keep my Guardian Grarl. So I activate my face down card Mystical Space Typhoon".

James pushed a button on his duel disk and a card on his side of the field flipped up. "Reveal face down trap card Magic Drain. As long as I send a magic card from my hand to the graveyard, I can negate the activation of a magic card. I'll destroy my Ax of Despair to stop Mystical Space Typhoon". James's card had a picture of a winged demon sucking the life out of a peasant-looking man. "Now Guardian Grarl will attack your life points directly with Gravity Ax. I end my turn". Bobby was hit into the air just like James was.

James Bobby

3600 5500

Bobby drew a card and had a hateful look on his face. "It hurts being attacked by your own monster. Oh well, I summon my Guardian of the Labyrinth (A1000, D1000) in defense mode. Next I play Polymerization to combine it with Protector of the Throne (A800, D1100) to create my Giltia the Dark Night (A1850, D1350) in defense mode. Next I set one card face down. I end my turn". Bobby played his cards so quickly, they didn't even get projected. Giltia was a man in green armor with a purple cape and an ax-shaped spear in his right hand.

James Bobby

3600 6500

James drew his card. "I summon Goblin Attack Force (A2300, D0) in attack mode. This is the strongest monster that doesn't need an offering. Next I play one card face down". James was tempted to attack the monster Bobby had played but was afraid of his face down card. His new monster was a small army of green goblins in green and ivory armor. "I will end my turn without attacking", he said.

James Bobby

3600 7500

Bobby drew a card and looked interestedly at James. "You learn quickly. Only a fool would dare attacking a third time with a card face down. But this wasn't one of those times. I activate my magic card De-fusion. With this card, my Giltia is split back into its original monsters. Next I play my Legendary Ocean field card. This lowers all of my water monsters by two stars. Now I will offer the Protector of the Throne for my all-powerful Suigen (A2500, D2400). Not only does the Legendary Ocean lower my monsters' stars, it increases their attack points by 200. Now Suigen… attack the Guardian Grarl with Tidal Force.

James pushed a button on his duel disk. "Reveal face down trap card Wall of Revealing Light. I can offer any amount of life points as long as it is a multiple of 1000 and the wall will stop all monsters that are as strong or weaker than the amount of life points I sacrificed. I take 3000 life points to keep Suigen from attacking". A wall made out of white light erupted from the ground and stopped Suigen's attack.

Bobby set a card face down on the field and said, "I end my turn by playing a card face down".

James Bobby

400 7500

James drew a card and stared at it. "I summon Don Turtle (A1100, D1200) in defense mode. Then I will switch Goblin Attack Force into defense mode. Next, I attack you Guardian of the Labyrinth with Guardian Grarl's Gravity Ax attack". Guardian Grarl struck the Guardian of the Labyrinth and shattered it. "I end m turn", he said. Don Turtle was a turtle that was constantly in its shell.

James Bobby

400 6000

Bobby drew his card with frustration. How could he forget to switch his monster to defense mode. His monsters were doing their job of protecting him, but he wasn't returning the favor. "I play Monster Reborn on Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. Next I play one card face down. Now I flip up my face down magic card Cost Down. This card lowers one monster in my hand by two stars. But to activate it, I must first send another card from my hand to the graveyard. I discard the last card in my hand to summon Kazejin (A2400, D2200). I end my turn here", he said.

James Bobby

400 7000

James drew another card and thought. He had no way of attacking. Suigen was to powerful and he had seen Sabrina use her Kazejin and was well aware of its effect. "I have no playable monsters, so I will end my turn", he declared. He was embarrassed by doing so terribly against his idle.

Bobby drew his next card. "I summon my Kaiser Sea Horse (A1700, D1650) in attack mode. But since that was the only card in my hand, I end my turn", he said. A blue man in strange, jagged, purple and blue armor with a spear in his left hand and a shield attached to the right wrist formed in front of Bobby.

James Bobby

400 8000

James drew the card off the top of his deck. It was easy to tell from the expression on his face that it was a good card. He grinned and said, "I activate my own Monster Reborn magic card. I choose to bring back my Chaos Command Magician. Next I'll send Guardian Grarl to attack the Kaiser Sea Horse with Gravity Ax". Grarl slashed the Kaiser Sea Horse to pieces with its mighty ax.

Bobby grinned as well and pressed a button. "I reveal my trap card Rope of Life. For the cost of my hand, I can bring back a monster that was destroyed in battle. So I receive my Kaiser Sea Horse as good as new. But Rope of Life not only gave him life, but ensured that he won't lose it as easily by increasing his attack by 800. He is now at 2500 just like Guardian Grarl. And let's not forget the power bonus he gets from my Legendary Ocean which puts him at 2700 with Suigen".

James gulped as he saw the Kaiser Sea Horses attack increase by an entire thousand. "I set one monster face down in defense mode. Next I switch Chaos Command Magician to defense mode and end my turn", he said.

James Bobby

400 7200

Bobby drew his next card and began to laugh. "It is all over for you. I have just drawn the last monster I need. I activate the Kaiser Sea Horse's special effect. As long as I offer him for a light monster, I can treat him as two offerings. Now I tribute Kaiser Sea Horse for the last of the trinity, Sanga of the Thunder (A2600, D2200). On my next turn, I will combine my cards together to form my strongest monster, the Gate Guardian. But for now, I end my turn", he said.

James Bobby

400 8200

James drew a card but wasn't paying attention to it. He was too preoccupied with his opponent's monsters. He knew that each of them had the ability to reduce an opponent's attack points to zero when they are attacked. But together, they would be strong enough to break through the Wall of Revealing Light. But he wasn't going to let that happen. "I offer my face down Witch of the Black Forest, Guardian Grarl, and Don Turtle for the monster known as Gilfer the Lightning (A2800, D1400)". Gilfer was a muscular man with a horned helmet and matching armor on his torso. He also had red pants and a torn red cape that concealed a sword. "Gilfer only needs two offerings, but when I offer three monsters he destroys every monster on your side of the field. Now Gilfer, attack with Blade of Hell's Lightning", James commanded. Gilfer raised his sword into the air. A bolt of Lightning struck his sword and then flew into Bobby and his monsters. "Next I will have the Chaos Command Magician attack your life points directly with Dark Chaos Spell. And to end my turn, Goblin Attack Force will attack your life points with Goblin Smash". All of James's monsters attacked Bobby who fell to the ground in pain.

James Bobby

400 700

Bobby struggled to his feet and drew a card. He was shocked at how quickly the tide of the duel had turned. James had done 7500 points of direct damage on one turn. Bobby looked at his card and calmed down. "I set one card face down and that'll end my turn", he said.

James drew a card but stopped when someone called to him. "Hey Fire Bearer, can I get a light over here?" The speaker was the man in the gray cloak. There was a cigarette in his right hand. James held his right hand up and began to concentrate. The red emblem on his hand began to glow and a flare appeared on the cigarette. "Thanks, I appreciate it". The cloaked man inhaled from the cigarette.

James was about to play a card when Bobby pushed a button on his duel disk. "Reveal face down trap card Guardian Force. At the beginning of your turn, if I have no monsters on the field I can summon any five monsters with Guardian in their name. So I choose the five remaining guardian cards: Guardian Ceal, Guardian Kay'est, Guardian Elma, Guardian Tryce, and Guardian Baou".

James quickly played his cards. "I offer the Goblin Attack Force for a monster that will end this duel. Come forth my all-powerful Jinzo. Jinzo's effect destroys every trap card on the field and stops anymore from being played", he said. The Wall of Revealing Light that was surrounding James vanished. Bobby's monsters had not formed yet but the trap card was destroyed. "Now Gilfer the Lightning, attack his life points directly with Sword of Hell's Lightning". Gilfer directed another bolt of lightning at Bobby. Bobby fainted due to the strain on his body from being n the Shadow Realm for to long and for taking such a beating. Bobby's body faded away and the Shadow Realm disappeared.

Karl hadn't taken his eyes off of the cloaked man during the entire duel. As soon as the black cloud was gone Karl said, "Okay now it is my turn. We're going to duel right now". The emblem on his hand illuminated and the Shadow Realm began to form again. The cloaked man didn't say anything. The emblem on his hand began to glow and he took a long drag from his cigarette. He exhaled and a screen of smoke filled the parking lot. When the smoke cleared, the man was gone. Karl wiped a tear from his eye as he and James walked up to the grocery store.

When they were outside, James sat down on a bench. He hadn't been able to rest since the duel with Bobby. Karl sat beside him. James noticed that Karl had been very quiet since the duel had started. And he could understand. It must have been hard sending the girl he had been dating for nearly a month to a place as bad as the Shadow Realm. And what she had said while she was under the control of the Ninth Emblem didn't make anything better. "Don't worry about her man. I'm sure she's okay. As soon as we find the fuck that did this, we'll let him take her place. Come on, it's getting late. You just had to be sure we got enough peanut butter to last the next six months.

Karl smiled and stood up. The two friends started walking toward their hideout when the saw something move in an alley. They saw a man in a black robe and a duel disk on his left wrist. A kid about there age was on the ground against the wall. Nobody else could see or hear what was going on. But Karl and James saw straight through the Shadow Realm's black cloud. The kid disappeared for a second as the shadows smothered him, stealing his mind and leaving his mind. The cloud then vanished. Karl shouted out, "You! Stop right where you are. You're going to pay for what you just did. I feel sorry for you. I'm in a bad mood so I'm the last person you would want to see that happen". Karl had seen these kind people before. They didn't work for the five but they could still access the Shadow Realm. They were called Rare Hunters. They worked for a kid named Marik Ischtar. But Marik had broken up the gang at the end of Seto Kaiba's Battle City tournament last year. Yugi and Marik dueled in the finals and Yugi forced Marik to surrender. But just because Marik left didn't stop a few of Rare Hunters from continuing to force people into duels and take their rarest card.

The Rare Hunter looked up and ran in the opposite direction. James followed Karl as he chased the Rare Hunter down the alley. James stopped at the kid and squatted down to help him. He knew Karl was fast enough to catch the Rare Hunter. A police car stopped and an officer stepped out.

James stood up with the kid on his back and said, "Hurry, the person who did this has just run out the other end of this alley. If you hurry, you can still get him. He's wearing all black". The officer nodded and got back into the car and drove off.

Karl was gaining on the Rare Hunter as they ran down the middle of the street. He heard police sirens and looked to his left to see a police car alongside him. He looked forward and noticed that the Rare Hunter was gone. A police car pulled up on his right and one behind him. He began to sprint and left the cars in his dust. The police pressed the acceleration to the floor and began to slowly catch up. Karl saw a barricade ahead and he slowed to a stop. Police pointed their guns at him and put his hands in the air. He climbed into the backseat of a car and they drove him to the station. He was handcuffed with his hands behind his back. Then they used handcuffs to attach his to a chair.

At the same time, James had seen the Rare Hunter run back the way Karl had chased him. James dropped the kid and chased the Rare Hunter. They eventually came to a closed alley. The Rare Hunter turned around and activated his duel disk. James activated his duel disk, too. Before either of them drew a card, the emblem on James's hand emitted a crimson glow and the black cloud of the Shadow Realm engulfed them.

The police began questioning Karl on the kid. "Why did you kill that kid?" said a muscular cop. He had sort black hair and a curly black mustache. There were two other cops in the room. One was a fat cop with untamed brown hair and a pink face. The other was an old man. He had short gray hair and a white beard.

"What? I didn't kill anybody. That kid was like that when my friend and I arrived. Wasn't there another kid in the alley? We were chasing the guy who did this. I was right behind the attacker when you guys showed up", Karl explained.

"Oh were you now? We searched every where around the attack and you were the only one that fit the description the kid in the alley gave us. Running, dressed in all black, and a duel disk on his left wrist", said the fat cop. "Sounds like you to me".

Karl was getting annoyed. "I'm telling you guys I didn't do anything. If you let me go, I can bring the real attacker here in no time", he said. He looked at the three officers who had started laughing.

"Sorry kid, but you're going to have to stay here until we finish the paper work", the muscular cop said and the three of them left the room.

James drew his first cards and was delighted by his hand. He started his turn by saying, "I set one monster in face down defense mode. Next I will set one card face down and I will end my turn".

The Rare Hunter then drew his opening hand and his sixth card. "I will do the same as you. I set one monster face down in defense mode and set a card face down", he said. The card appeared in front of him.

James drew his next card. "I offer my face down monster which is a Witch of the Black Forest for my Dark Driceratops (A2400, D1500) in attack mode. Next I activate Harpie's Feather Duster. This card destroys all of your magic and trap cards. Now Dark Driceratops, destroy his face down monster with Prehistoric Howl". The Dark Driceratops was a dinosaur with feathers around its neck. It also had the head of a bird. Harpie's Feather Duster was a picture of a feather blowing away a card. The Dark Driceratops opened its mouth and fired a supersonic ray and destroyed the Rare Hunter's monster. "Oh by the way, Dark Driceratops has built in Fairy Meteor Crush. That means you lose life points regardless of your monsters position. Now I end my turn", he said.

James Rare Hunter

8000 6200

The Rare Hunter remained cool. Or at it least looked like it from under his hood. "The monster you destroyed was Sangan (A1000, D600). It is exactly like Witch of the Black Forest except it brings a monster with 1500 attack points to my hand instead of defense points. Now I set another card face down in defense mode. I end my turn", he said.

James drew his card. "I summon my Gagagigo (A1850, D1000) in attack mode. Gagagigo, attack his face down monster with Spiked Lizard Punch", he said. A green, human-shaped lizard with spikes on its body formed in front of James. The lizard punched the Rare Hunter's card and it shattered.

"Ha, you attacked my Man-Eater Bug. When this card is flipped up, it sends one monster on the field to the graveyard. I choose to get rid of the Dark Driceratops", the Rare Hunter said.

James sneered. He reluctantly removed the card from his duel disk and put it in the graveyard. "I will end my turn", he said.

Karl was given one phone call. "May I please use my cell phone? I don't know my friend's number and the only way to call him is to select his name form the phone book on my cell phone", Karl begged.

The muscular officer looked at the gray-haired policeman and said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you do this once. Here's your phone". The officer reached into his pocket and gave Karl his phone. When they had arrested him, they took his phone, his deck, his duel disk, and his sweatshirt. Karl dialed the number and got bunch of weird noises. That meant James was in the Shadow Realm. Karl frowned and hung up. The officers took his phone and re-cuffed him to the chair. "We'll let you try and get your friend again in an hour". The officers left the room.

Karl sighed and said, "I can't let James be out there by himself. I've already let down Michael, Jeremy, and Sabrina. I refuse to fail anymore of my friends. I also can't believe I'm about to do this". He concentrated very hard and his emblem illuminated. The entire room became black and the darkness rushed into the handcuffs. The handcuffs shattered and Karl saw the tiny metal grains that were his former restraints. He stood up and concentrated even harder. Police officers looked out the windows of the station and saw a black cloud forming around the entire building. Karl knew well enough that in the Shadow Realm, the monsters were real. He was without his deck and had no cards to activate, but it didn't matter. He had certain monsters that he didn't need his deck to draw. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card that wasn't there before. "I need your mighty strength. Come forth and help me escape my imprisonment. I call on the power of Slifer the Sky Dragon". Slifer burst out of the card. It was too big to fit in the police station and the room broke off as Slifer continued to exit the card. When it was completely out, it wrapped around the building several times an its head looked into the rooms. The cops dropped to the floor and hid their heads. Karl ran and grabbed all of his stuff. Even if the police had been paying attention, they would never have been able to see Karl due to how fast he was running. He was out the door and the black cloud faded along with Slifer. The cops saw that Karl was walking down the street and they began to chase him.

The Rare Hunter drew his card off the top of his deck. He frowned and was getting worried. "I play one monster face down and end my turn".

James drew his card and grinned. "I will set one card face down. Next I offer Gagagigo to summon my Helpoemer (A2000, D1400)", he said. A monster that was deformed completely took its form on the field. It was blue with no eyes but mouths all over its chest. It also had a purple skirt-type article of clothing. "Helpoemer, attack his face down monster with Screech of Hell". The Helpoemer opened all of its mouths and released a sonic attack at the brown card. The card flipped up to reveal a clawed bug.

"Ha! You attacked my second Man-Eater Bug. Now I will destroy the last monster on your side of the field, which is Helpoemer. Now you have no monsters", the Rare Hunter said.

James sneered as the clawed bug destroyed another monster. "I end my turn", he said.

The Rare Hunter drew a card and finally looked relieved. "I summon Harpie's Brother. He has no monsters in his way so I'll send him to attack your life points directly with Mach 3 Arial Claw". The Harpie's Brother slashed James with its giant crimson claw. "I end my turn", he said.

James Rare Hunter

6200 6200

Karl turned around and saw the cops chasing him. There were also police cars starting up. He began running toward the alley he left James in. The police chased him all over Domino City. He eventually came to a familiar building. It was a hotel that he had been in yesterday. He ran in and up the stairs. He burst through a door and he was on the roof overlooking the street that he saw Yugi through the binoculars. He looked at the street and saw pedestrians and cars going in all directions. The police followed up to the roof and aimed their guns at him. "Stop kid, if you make another move we'll either shoot, or you'll fall seven stories. You are under arrest for the murder of another kid, resisting arrest, breaking out of jail, and de-roofing the police station", the officer said. He was drenched in sweat. His normally brown hair looked black. The white-haired cop and the muscular cop were behind him. Karl looked at his right hand and concentrated until it started to glow. He jumped of the building and fell headfirst to the ground. The cops looked over the edge in time to see him disappear. What they saw next made their jaws drop. Karl's shadow had remained where it was even after he disappeared. Then Karl came sprinting out of it onto the street and ran away. The three cops edged away from the side of the building and never saw Karl again.

James drew a card from his deck and forced a smile. "Oh god, is this all I can do. Okay, I summon the Sinister Serpent (A300, D250) in attack mode. Next I equip him with the Black Pendent. Then he will grow stronger as your monster is weakened by Riryoku". Riryoku had a picture of a black figure sucking the life out of a human. The Black Pendant showed a golden necklace with a red chain and a purple stone in the middle. Both appeared on the field behind a green, winged snake. "My monster's attack points are now 1800. Sinister Serpant, attack with Nightmare Venom", he said. His monster bit Harpie's Brother on the neck. "I end my turn".

James Rare Hunter

6200 5300

The Rare Hunter drew a card. I set a monster face down in defense mode. I end my turn", he said.

James drew a card and grinned bigger than before. "I offer Sinister Serpent for Dark Ruler Ha Des (A2450, D1600). And because my Black Pendent was destroyed, you lose 500 life points. Now I send Dark Ruler Ha Des to attack your monster with Fist of the Underworld", he said. Dark Ruler Ha Des was a big green man with a golden crown that was connected to his shoulders and a blue/ purple robe. He punched the face down card and destroyed it. "I end my turn".

James Rare Hunter

6200 4800

The Rare Hunter drew a card and began looking through his deck. "I am allowed to get a monster with 1500 defense points or less thanks to you killing my Witch of the Black Forest. Next I remove my two Man-Eater Bugs from play to special summon the Rock Spirit (A1700, D1000). And since he was a special summon, I can offer him to the Summoned Skull", he said. The enormous skeleton rose up on the field. "Now I combine him with Big Bang Shot. Summoned Skull, attack and destroy his Dark Ruler with Lightning Strike. I end my turn". The skeleton launched a bolt of lightning at the monster on James' side on the field.

James Rare Hunter

5800 4800

James drew a card and was annoyed that he had lost another good card. "I set one monster face down in defense mode and one card face down and end my turn", he said as he played the cards on his duel disk.

The Rare Hunter drew his card with anticipation. He finally had James on the defensive. "I activate the White Dragon Ritual. I offer Luster Dragon #2 and Labyrinth Walls from my hand to summon the Paladin of White Dragon (A1900, D). Now I activate his effect and offer him for a Blue-Eyes White Dragon (A3000, D2500)". At first, there were only four Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards in the world. Three owned by the duelist Seto Kaiba and the last owned by Solomon Moto, Yugi's grandpa. Seto won the fourth Blue-Eyes and ripped it up. Recently, the creator of Duel Monsters named Maximillion Pegasus released a new pack called the Legend of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. With it came the release of the new Blue-Eyes. It is just as strong but it has an effect that makes it die if it is played against any of the four (or three) Blue-Eyes White Dragons. It was monster of incredible size. It had a blue and white body with large claws and enormous wings. "Blue-Eyes can't attack this turn, but Summoned Skull can and will with Lightning Strike". The electric force destroyed James' card and the Rare Hunter's monsters disappeared. "What? What just happened to my monsters?" he asked.

James smirked and said, "You attacked my Penguin Soldier (A750, D500). When he gets flipped up, I choose two monsters to return to their owners' hand. So I chose your monsters since they were the only ones".

The Rare Hunter picked the cards off of his duel disk and placed them in his hand. "I end my turn", he said.

Karl arrived at the alley where the Rare Hunter attacked the kid and James was nowhere in sight. The kid was lying in a new position on the ground. 'James must have picked him up and dropped him. But where is James now. He probably saw the Rare Hunter or ran from the police. Even though running from the police is in James' family, he most likely saw the Rare Hunter. Let's find out where he went', Karl thought. He concentrated as his emblem ignited and he saw something nobody else could. He saw James drop the kid and run out of the alley and in the opposite direction as himself. He watched James follow him into a different alley and the Shadow Realm engulf them. Karl ran as fast as he could toward the alley James was in.

James drew another card to start his turn. "I play one card face down and end my turn", he said miserably.

The Rare Hunter drew a card and looked at it doubtfully. "I set a monster face down in defense mode and end my turn", he said.

James drew a new card and sighed. "I set another card face down and end my turn", he said.

The Rare Hunter started his next turn by drawing. "I set a card face down in defense mode. Next I place a card face down and end my turn", he said. The two seemed to be at a stalemate.

James added another card to his hand. "First I activate my magic card Premature Burial to revive my Dark Ruler Ha Des for the cost of 800 life points. Next I will offer both of your monsters for the Lava Golem (A3000, D2500). Now you have a monster of incredible strength on your side of the field. But, you will lose 1000 life points every one of your turns. Now I end my turn".

James Rare Hunter

5000 4800

The Rare Hunter was scared now. His hand trembled as he drew his card. "I play the Pot of Greed magic card. This card lets me draw two cards from my deck. I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode. Now Lava Golem, attack with Lava Burst", he said.

James laughed and pushed a button on his duel disk and said, "Reveal face down trap card Magic Cylinder, reflecting the attack back into your life points".

The Rare Hunter was horrified as he said, "I end my turn".

James Rare Hunter

5000 800

James drew his card. "I will have the Dark Ruler attack La Jinn with Fist of the Underworld. This is it Rare Hunter, you're going to pay for what you did to that kid back there. On your next turn, you're going to lose your last life points", he said.

"What are you talking about? I'm not a Rare Hunter. That kid attacked me as I was walking down that alley. He jumped out of nowhere and then a tattoo on his right hand started glowing and this weird black cloud surrounded us. But, I'm not a Rare Hunter. My name is Chris and I just happen to like wearing black cloaks", the Rare Hunter said. He ripped off his hood to reveal a kid of the same age. He had dark black hair and brown eyes. He also had a bit of a mustache growing in.

James looked embarrassed. "Oh! I am so sorry. It won't happen again. Look, to make up for what I did, how would you like to help us defeat five really hard duelists? These guys are above the Regional Champions", he said.

Chris laughed and said, "That sounds more like asking me for a favor than paying for your mistake. But okay, I'll help you guys". The Shadow Realm disappeared. James looked back and saw Karl running into the alley.

"Hey Karl, we made a mistake. He's actually just a kid in a black cloak. I've asked him to help us. Man, you look exhausted. What happened to you?" James asked.

Karl spoke through his deep breaths. "Don't think…he is such…a good guy. He got…me arrested and…chased by the police…all over town", he said. He stood up straight. "Okay, he can come. Now let's hurry up and get these groceries home".

Karl and James arrived with James at about 2:27 in the morning. Josh and Yugi were already asleep. They told Chris to sleep on a couch after they put the food away. Then they all fell asleep.

. "I am very sorry about this Sabrina. But I realize that this is the only way to save you. Please forgive me for everything I have done. I promise to free you as soon as I can. And I never break my promises. I flip up my face down Magician of Faith to bring back my magic card Big Bang Shot. Next I'll combine it with my Dark Magician increasing his attack to 2900. Now attack Lord Poison with Dark Magic" The Dark Magician's attack hit Lord Poison and destroyed it. Sabrina's life point meter struck zero and the Shadow Realm began to assimilate her. "I am truly sorry Sabrina. I never wanted this to happen. But as soon as I can, I will set you free from the Shadow Realm and from their spell". He blinked back tears as he watched Sabrina fade away. He saw the last part of her to be grasped by the shadows was her left hand. He held up his right hand and his emblem emitted a purple glow and a strange dark light extended from his hand and grabbed hers. He held her hand as long as he could before feeling her being wrenched from him. He withdrew the light and looked at the card in his hand. It was the same Dark Magician Girl he gave to Sabrina when he first taught her how to duel.

The Shadow Realm left Karl in the parking lot of the Movie Theater where he was going to meet Sabrina. He was thinking if the play he made could have gone differently. But a strange doubtfulness came over him. He drew the next card from his duel disk. It was the one in the golden protective case, The Winged Dragon of Ra. "It was the better plan. If I had waited one more turn, I would have seriously hurt Sabrina with an Egyptian God Card. So if the emblem on her hand was gray, the one I'm after is", Karl said to himself but his sentence was finished by another voice.

"WIND", the voice shouted. It was the man in the gray cloak. The metal symbol of the line through the spiral gleamed in the moonlight. "The one you are looking for is the Bearer of the Wind Emblem. Yes, I am the one that placed the Ninth Emblem on sweet, innocent little Sabrina. But she looked so upset when I found her. That was a necessary trait to being given the Ninth Emblem. As long as someone is mad and I beat him or her in a duel, I can create the Ninth Emblem upon them. And the only way for them to escape the original emblem bearer's control is to beat them in a duel. Even though you sent Sabrina to the Shadow Realm and hold the power to bringing her back, she will still be my slave. I can tell what you're thinking. What was she mad about? Well that was your fault. She was waiting for you to show up and you were already ½ an hour late. and hold the power to bringing her back, she will still be my slave. I can tell what you're thinking. What was she mad about? Well that was your fault. She was waiting for you to show up and you were already ½ an hour late. You were just to busy with your Duel Monsters tournament to show up on time. Tell me Shadow Bearer, did you win all of your duels at the tournament?"

The Shadow Emblem on Karl's hand shimmered and let loose a black cloud of the Shadow Realm. Normally the Shadow Realm didn't have a large range. But Karl was pissed and the cloud covered the parking lot and the theater. "Yes, as a matter of fact I did win all of my games. And this is one of the cards that helped me do so. Come forth and rid the world of this fuck, Winged Dragon of Ra", Karl said. The monstrous bird headed dragon exploded out of the card and spread it's great wings and took flight. Its mouth had flames seeping through the cracks that were trying to escape. Ra opened its mouth and the fire crashed into the ground and worked its way to the cloaked man. But before the attack hit, two figures jumped between Ra and the Wind Bearer. Karl recognized the two people. One had dark brown hair and had dyed a streak of it gold in the middle. He wasn't much taller than Josh and was dressed in all blue. He had blue jeans with a blue Slipknot: The Subliminal Verse T-shirt. There was a duel disk on his left wrist. The other boy had long black hair that stopped just past his shoulders. He was wearing a black Sum 41 T-shirt and blue jean-shorts. He too had a duel disk on his left wrist. Both of the duelists had a gray cross of the Ninth Emblem on their right hands. The two boys were Karl's friends Mike and Jeremy. The two of them did everything in the power of the Ninth Emblem they could, but to no avail. The Winged Dragon of Ra's attack hit them and the Shadow Realm assimilated them.

Karl stood in awe of what he had just done. He began to weep for all of his friends that he had trapped in the darkest place imaginable. But it didn't take long for that sorrow to be replaced by rage. Rage for the one responsible for his friends, the Bearer of the Wind Emblem. Karl glared at the cloaked man who pulled down his hood. There was long black hair, which was slightly longer than James' was and brown eyes that reflected Karl's emotion. He had a slight mustache and a sinister grin.

"Oh would you look at that? You've become just like us. You have rid the planet of your own friends. That's worse than anything we've done though. You really earned the title of the Shadow Bearer. Tell me what's it like to be the reason your friends are trapped in the dreaded Shadow Realm", the man said and laughed.

Karl's glare deepened as he listened to the man laugh. He realized that this man was no older than he was. "You are insane. You are the reason my friends are in the darkness. You are the one that put that spell on them. You told Sabrina to duel me in the Shadow Realm. You forced Jeremy and Mike to take the hit for you. You are a cold bastard and you deserve worse than death. Let's duel right now, no Ninth Emblem cronies, just you and me. Or else I'll send the Winged Dragon of Ra to let you join my friends. Trust me, you don't want any Egyptian God Card on you right now because the gods aren't being very merciless right now". Karl reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and pulled out a card in a red case. "I summon Slifer the Sky Dragon to join Ra".

The Wind Bearer looked into the sky (the Shadow Realm has no sky, it is just a shadow that extends forever so he actually just looked up) and saw the gargantuan snake-like dragon appear next to Ra. He grinned and said, "Is that the best you've got? I'm sorry but you're going to have to prove to me that you can stand against me and those cards don't look like you're good enough. But I'll make a deal with you, I'll summon a monster and if you can beat it, you get to leave the Shadow Realm. I won't stick around to watch though. So I leave you with my favorite monster". He pulled five cards out of his pocket and threw them into the air. The cards stopped and spread apart and a star the looked like it was made of green neon lights connected them. Then a circle with strange markings appeared in front of the star. The circle was also green. The Wind Bearer turned around and blew a tornado out of his mouth and it ripped a hole in the Shadow Realm small enough for him to escape through before it closed.

Karl watched as a monster force its way out of the star and through the circle. First came the monster's hands, which were balled into fists. The arms followed the hands and then the torso. Then the legs stepped and the last thing the monster showed was its head. It had a blue face mostly covered by a golden crown-type thing and only revealed the monster's eyes and mouth. The crown was enormous and spread out like a cobra hood. Its torso was incredibly muscular and had a tan colored armor. There were golden designs on the chest. His arms were perfect for the body and were the same color as the rest of the armor. The legs were also in perfect proportion to the rest of the body. Both the wrists and ankles had metal rings around them and broken chains hanging from them. The monster grinned, showing gigantic white teeth and began forming a ball of yellow energy in its left hand.

Karl grinned and the Shadow Emblem started to glow and his eyes changed from blue to purple. He looked up at the monster and shouted, "So your favorite monster is the legendary Exodia the Forbidden One. Exodia was believed to be the most powerful monster because it has unlimited power. Well it's nothing in comparison to the Egyptian God Cards. Prepare to die Exodia". Karl knew that the boy had left and nobody was listening to him. He placed his hand on his deck and was about to draw a card when a rough shaking suddenly awakened him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you going insane, screaming at this time out night", James shouted as he shook Karl awake. Karl opened his eyes and they were still purple and glowing. Before Karl could realize what he was doing, he held his hand up to James who was thrown against and pinned to the wall. Karl wiped the tears from his eyes and let James down. He looked around the room and couldn't see anything. He held his hand up and absorbed the darkness, leaving only light in the room so he could see. James was sitting on the floor against the wall rubbing the back of his head. Josh, Yugi, and Chris were standing in his doorway looking puzzled.

Karl stood up and asked, "What are you guys doing here? How could you tell I was screaming if these walls are sound proof?"

James stood up as well and told him. "You don't know anything that you do in your sleep. You took the entire house to the Shadow Realm. The above ground house, the yard, even some of the neighbors' houses. I don't know what you were dreaming about but you had better go to the dueling chamber and see what you did". Karl was followed to the dueling chamber by the other four. He opened the door and gasped at what he saw. Floating in the middle of the room was the coiled, red body of Slifer the Sky Dragon and the golden Winged Dragon of Ra.

Karl walked into the middle of the room and pulled two cards out of his pocket. "Slifer, Ra, I command you two to return to your card right now", he said and the two dragons flew into their cards. "There, I have everything under control. What time is it?"

Yugi looked at his watch and said, "It's nearly six in the morning. We've been spending the last two hours trying to wake you up. You sealed the door to your room shut with your emblem".

Karl turned to James and said, "If I took the outside world to the Shadow Realm, than the five will find out that we are here anytime now. We have to find a new place to hide. And Yugi, you had better go tell your grandfather that you are okay. I'll come with you". Karl went back to his room and got changed. He put on the same kind of black shorts. His shirt had a picture of the cover of the GodSmack: The Other Side album. Karl and Yugi left and ran toward the card shop his grandfather owned. Yugi had lived with his grandfather nearly all of his life. When they arrived, the place was empty. Yugi knocked on the door and entered with Karl behind him. The two of them looked for Yugi's grandpa until Karl saw a symbol on the back of the front door. It was a yellow circle with three triangles pointing toward each other. There was a circle between each triangle. Karl touched it and his emblem started glowing. "I'm sorry Yugi, but they have your grandpa. This is the light Emblem. He has taken your grandfather's soul. I think it's time you learned what is going on. There is a duelist that leads all of the five. On his right hand is the Spirit Emblem. The others have the powers of water, wind, light, and lightning. I met the water the same day I met you when I dueled him. I met the wind right after the duel with my girlfriend. And I met spirit through a dream. The Spirit Bearer wants to create a card that will destroy the entire world. He wants to shape the world into a single country that he will rule. He will most likely create four smaller nations for his followers. He needs your Millenium Puzzle as a key to create this card. He also needs souls to power the magic and create the card. Using the power of the Spirit Emblem, he can use souls from the Shadow Realm as long as he, another one of the five or a person that they casted the spell of the Ninth Emblem on sends the soul there. I don't know anything about this card except for the fact that it will destroy the world. But I know that used in a duel, it has the power to destroy the Egyptian God Cards. Come on, we should leave here. If the symbol of light is here, than he is definitely checking this place just in case you show up.

Karl and Yugi walked outside and Yugi brushed a tear from his eye. "Karl, I want to thank you for all of the help you've given me. I would have been in trouble several times if it weren't for you. That water guy could have defeated me. I would have been outnumbered at the arcade. I would never be able to send Joey to the Shadow Realm. And you had to duel your own girlfriend and you sent Ra to attack your friends. You must have a lot of strength to be able to do that and not spend every minute crying about the terrible things you have done. And your will power must also be incredible to be in the Shadow Realm as often as you are. So thank you", he said.

Karl smiled but his face fell with his stomach when he saw the ground. There were two black spots moving toward him and Yugi. Then two people dropped in front of them. One of the people had a yellow cloak and insignias that matched the one on the door. The other was the man in the blue cloak. When they landed, the wasted no time talking and instantly activated their emblems. Yugi and Karl were cut off from each other as the Shadow Realm formed two arenas and separated the two duels.

Karl placed his deck in his duel disk and activated it. He looked at the other end of the Shadow Realm at his opponent in the blue cloak. Both of them drew their cards. Karl drew his first new card. "I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp. That'll be it for my turn". Karl's genie formed on the field.

The Water Bearer drew his first card. "I activate my White Dragon Ritual. This let's me summon the Paladin of White Dragon for the cost of four stars. I'll discard my Harpy Lady Sisters for my tribute. Next I offer the Paladin of White Dragon as part of his effect to summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I will also play a card face down and end my turn". The giant legendary dragon appeared in front of Karl.

Karl drew his card and said, "I set one card face down in defense mode and switch La Jinn to defense mode as well. Next I will play a card face down and end my turn". A card formed next to La Jinn.

The Water Bearer started his turn by drawing. "I set a monster face down in defense mode. Now Blue-Eyes White Dragon will destroy La Jinn with White Lightning. I end my turn". The lightning crashed into Karl's monster and killed it.

"I set another monster face down in defense mode. Then I'll set a second card face down. I end my turn", Karl said as he played another card face down. He was getting nervous because he wasn't drawing any of the cards he needed.

The Water Bearer drew a card and grinned. He didn't care what card he had drawn. He knew he was winning so far with his Blue-Eyes. "I set one card face down and attack your face down card on your right with White Lightning and end my turn", he said. The dragon ripped right through Karl's Royal Magical Library.

Karl drew his next card. "I can only play this card face down. I will do so and end my turn. I want to let you know that I'm not in a mood to be messing around with someone like you right now. You just be lucky you don't have the Emblem of Wind", he said.

The Water Bearer ignored the comment and drew his card. "I summon the Seven Colored Fish in attack mode. Next I combine it with the magic card Rush Recklessly. This will increase my fish's attack points by 700 until the end of my turn. Now Seven Colored Fish will attack your monster with Torrent Breath. Next I flip up the Princess of Tsurugi (A900, D700). When she is flipped up, you lose 500 life points for every magic and trap car on your side of the field. Now Blue-Eyes will attack your life points directly with White Lightning". The princess was a pretty blonde woman in a red robe and red boots. There were green things in her hair.

"I block your dragon's attack with Mirror Force. This will reflect the attack back into your life points", Karl said and pushed the button on his duel disk.

"It won't when I use a trap card of my own. I use the Seven Tools of the Bandit. For the cost of 1000 life points, I can destroy your trap card. I will end my turn", the Water Bearer said.

Karl Water Bearer

3500 7000

Karl drew a card and his eyes lit up. "I set one monster face down in defense mode. Unfortunately, that will do it for my turn", he said. The card appeared in front of him.

The Water Bearer drew a card. "I'll set this face down on the field. Next my Seven Colored Fish will attack your face down monster", he said. The water attack hit Karl's face down monster. It was a silver jar with a blue lid and a green, glass dome. The dome opened up and sucked all of the monsters in.

"You attacked my Cyber Jar (A900, D900). When he flips up, he destroys all monsters on the field. Then we draw five cards and summon everyone with four stars or lower. I summon The Bistro Butcher and that's it".

The Water Bearer sighed. "I set my three monster face down in defense mode and end my turn by playing these two cards face down". The Bistro Butcher was a purple demon in a chef's out fit and had a butcher knife in his left hand.

Karl drew his card. "I activate my Pot of Greed so I can draw two cards. Next I set two cards face down. Now activate magic card Contract with the Abyss. This acts as a ritual for any dark monster. I offer a card from my hand to summon the Summoned Skull. Next I offer two of your monsters for the Lava Golem (A3000, D2500). Now I set a monster face down in defense mode. Then I switch the Bistro Butcher into defense mode and attack your face down monster with the Summoned Skull's Lightning Strike. I end my turn", he said. Lava Golem was a giant monster created by lava with a cage attached to a chain around his neck. The Water Bearer was trapped in the cage.

The Water Bearer drew a card. "I reveal my face down Pineapple Blast to destroy two of your monsters. Next activate my Different Dimension Capsule to bring a card out of my deck. In two turns, it will be part of my hand. Now Lava Golem will attack your Summoned Skull with Lava Flow. I end my turn", he said. The golem spit a glob of lava that covered and killed the giant skeleton.

Karl Water Bearer

3000 6000

Karl drew a card from his deck. "I set one card face down in defense mode and end my turn", Karl said.

The Water Bearer drew another card and his life points dropped another thousand because of the Lava Golem. "I activate my Dark Hole to destroy every monster on the field. Next I set a card face down in defense mode and end my turn", he said.

Karl Water Bearer

3000 5000

Karl drew his next card. "I set a monster face down in defense mode. Next I play a card face down and end my turn", he said.

The Water Bearer drew a card and was no longer affected by the Lava Golem because it was destroyed. "I summon my Mad Sword Beast in attack mode. I send my to attack your monster with Ramming Blade Thrust", he said.

"Reveal face down card Trap Hole. This card will destroy your monster as long as it has 1000 attack points or more. And your monster has 1400", Karl said as his trap destroyed the monster. The card had a picture of a monster climbing out of a hole. The Wind Bearer end his turn. Karl drew a card. "I summon the Dark Blade (A1800, D1500) in attack mode. Next I'll equip him with the Ax of Despair to increase his attack by 1000 points. Dark Blade, attack his face down monster with Darkness Blade. I end my turn". Dark Blade was a man in a black armor with silver spikes and a black cape. He had a sword in each hand. He swung a sword and killed the face down monster.

The Water Bearer drew his card. "You destroyed my Man-Eater Bug. Now I will have him destroy your Dark Blade. Now I summon Gagagigo to kill your face down monster. Was that monster Kuriboh? That's pathetic. I end my turn", he said.

Karl picked up his next card. "I set one monster face down in defense mode. Next I set one card face down and end my turn".

The Water Bearer drew his card. "For my turn, I set one monster face down in defense mode and end", he said.

Karl drew his next card. "I set one card face down. Next I offer my face down Newdoria (A1200, D800) for my Beast of Talwar. I'll have him attack your Gagagigo".

"I activate my Waboku trap card to negate your attack", the Water Bearer said. Karl ended his turn. "I offer my two monster for the Giant One-Eyed Smurf (A2750, D2500). I'll have him attack". The monster was blue and muscular with one eye. There was a golden harness on its back and it had red shoes.

"I activate my very own Waboku trap card. Now you'll have to wait another turn to attack", Karl said as the women blocked the attack.

The Water Bearer looked depressed. "I end my turn", he said.

Karl drew a card. "I activate my magic card The Shallow Grave. This brings one monster from both of our graveyards back to the field in face down defense mode. Next I flip up my monster to reveal my Cyber Jar. I summon two cards face down in defense mode along with my Opticlops (the Water Bearer had three cards face down in defense mode). Now I flip up my Magician of Faith to bring back a magic card. I bring back the Monster Reborn card. Then I set a card face down. Next I offer the Magician of Faith and my face down Man-Eater Bug for the Barrel Dragon. Now I activate the Monster Reborn magic card to bring back the monster I offered with the Contract with the Abyss", he said. He pulled a card in a blue case out of the graveyard. "I reborn Obelisk the Tormentor (A4000, D4000)". A third gargantuan monster appeared on the field. It was muscular, blue monster. There were spikes on its shoulders and head. There was also a blue jewel on its forehead and had the same mouth as Exodia. Obelisk was the third and final Egyptian God Card. "I can't attack because Obelisk is a god card and can't attack when he is revived. But instead I will offer all of my monsters for the Winged Dragon of Ra, giving him a grand total of 8400. Now I will activate Ra's effect. I offer 1000 life points to destroy every monster on your side of the field. Now Winged Dragon of Ra, attack his life points directly with Burning Dragon Breath". The Winged Dragon of Ra blasted the Water Bearer with its flaming attack. When the flames stopped, the Water Bearer was gone, absorbed by the Shadow Realm. The Winged Dragon of Ra faded away with the Shadow Realm. Karl looked at where Yugi was. There was no sign of him. It was obvious to Karl what had happened. The Light Bearer defeated Yugi and now had the Millenium Puzzle. The only way to stop them now was to hope that the Spirit Bearer didn't have enough souls yet and the remaining Emblem Knights could still defeat him.

Karl pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello, this is James", came James' voice on the other end of the line. "Karl, what is it?" he asked.

"James, I have failed my job. They got the Pharaoh and the Millenium Puzzle. They cut us off into two different Shadow Games. The one with the Water Emblem kept me distracted while the Light Bearer defeated Yugi. If there is a plus side to this, it's that there are now only four of them. I had gotten rid of the Water Bearer", Karl said. He couldn't bear the thought of failing his king.

James took a deep breath and said, "It's okay man. I've been trying to reach for the past hour. You being in the Shadow Realm must have blocked my call. But the five called and told us where they are located. It's in a hidden tunnel on the street that you met Yugi on. That's how they find us every time we go on that road. Josh and I'll meet you there. Chris has gone home. I suppose you're going to try and defeat as many of the five as you can. Just be caref".

James was cut off when Karl hung up his cell phone and put it back in his pocket. Karl thought to himself as he sprinted to the street where the tunnel was. 'No James. No more being careful. Being careful nearly got me trapped in the Shadow Realm. It lost us Sabrina, Jeremy, and Mike. Because we are careful, we lost the Pharaoh. Now it's time to do things my way. It's time for a bit of recklessness'. Karl arrived at the street in a few minutes. He ignited his Shadow Emblem and shone a purple light all over the street until he saw the tunnel. It was several feet above the building where the Water Bearer jumped to after Karl played Slifer when they first dueled. Karl used the power of the Shadow Emblem to lift himself onto the building and into the tunnel. He sprinted down the tunnel to a large room. In it was a gray cloud that suffocated Karl.

James hung up the phone when the annoying beeping came on. "Josh, you ready to go", he said into Josh's room. Josh walked out with his duel disk on and nodded. The two of them headed for the street when they were jumped buy two kids that were about the same age as them. The first was a boy that had a shaved head and had a menacing smile. He was a small boy with the same brown eyes as James. He had a black cloak on. The other was a girl with brown hair that was the same length as James' and a pretty smile. She also had a black cloak on her. The two of them had a duel disk on their left wrists and an emblem on their right hands. The emblems had an orange cross on them. The two Emblem Knights activate their emblems to create arenas in Shadow Realm. They gave each other the thumbs up before they were cut off.

James drew his first hand and looked at his opponent. "I want to let you know Zach, what I'm about to do I won't be sorry for until later. Are you ready little brother? I activate the Pot of Greed. Next I set two cards face down and summon the Gemini Elves. I end my turn", he said. The twin elves formed with two cards.

Zach drew a card for his turn. "I set a monster face down in defense mode. Then I play two cards face down. I end my turn James", he said.

James drew his next card. "I call to the field my Giant Orc. Now I'll the Gemini Elves attack with Double Spell", he said. The elves fired their two balls of magic at the face down monster. The monster flipped up.

"The monster you attacked was my Grave Keeper's Guard. When it is flipped up, it returns a monster to the original owner's hand I send your Giant Orc back", Zach said.

James shrugged as he picked up his card. " I end my turn", he said.

Zach drew another card. "I offer my Grave Keeper's Guard for the Dark Ruler Ha Des in attack mode. Next I will reveal my face down magic card Harpie's Feather Duster. This will destroy your face down cards. Next my Ha Des will grow stronger with the help of Big Bang Shot Now Ha Des, attack his Gemini Elves with your Fist of the Underworld. Now I end my turn", he said. Ha Des punched the elves and they shattered.

James Zach

7050 8000

James drew a card and frowned. Any other time and he would have welcomed the card. "I set one card face down. Then I place my Giant Orc back on the field in defense mode. I end my turn", he said.

Zach drew his next card. "Well James, I activate the Cost Down magic card. By offering a card from my hand, I can reduce a monster's stars by two. Now I summon my Jinzo. He has the power to destroy all trap cards on the field. Now my Jinzo, attack his Giant Orc with Dark Light", he said. Jinzo formed a ball of black plasma and hurled it at James' monster. "And I'll end my turn by attacking your life points directly with Ha Des".

James Zach

3500 8000

Josh drew a card and added it to his hand. He was getting a little dizzy. He hadn't been in the Shadow Realm for awhile and he wasn't expecting the sudden wave of his weakening will power. "I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (A1800, D1300) in attack mode. Next I play two card face down and end my turn". Josh's monster was a bald man in a blue, robe-like thing. There was a string of beads around his hand.

The girl that he was dueling giggled at her hand. Josh rolled his eyes and wondered how he ever asked a girl like her out. He normally didn't like these girls but he made a strange exception for her. "You know Josh, if by some chance you win you can tell Karl that you sent your girlfriend to the Shadow Realm, too. I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv.4 (A1600, D1000) in attack mode. Next I equip it with the pretty Black Pendant to increase it to 2100. Third, I set a card face down. Now my Horus, attack his monster with your Black Flame Breath. I end my turn", she said. Her monster was a silver bird that resembled the Winged Dragon of Ra. It opened its mouth and a stream of black fire burned away Josh's monster.

Josh Girl

7700 8000

Josh drew his card and sighed. He watched as her monster was destroyed and its place taken by a monster that was just a bigger version of it. It was Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv.6 (A2300, D1600). He started thinking. 'When did Anna become such a good duelist. Normally, she would never have been able to think of that move. It must be that damned Ninth Emblem on her hand. Like ours, it brings out her dueling potential. This means I really will have to leave her here in the Shadow Realm'.

"I play my Cheerful Coffin magic card and send these three cards to the graveyard. Next I summon Bazoo the Soul Eater (A1600, D1400). Next I remove three cards from my graveyard to activate its effect. I can offer up three cards from my graveyard to increase Bazoo's attack points by 300 for each card removed from play that turn. Now Bazoo has 2500. I'll have him attack your dragon with Devouring of the Soul", he said. Bazoo was a purple gorilla that lived in a spider web. Bazoo pulled a blue ball out of Horus and ate it causing the monster to be destroyed. "I end my turn".

Josh Anna

7700 7800

Anna drew another card. "I summon the Spirit of the Harp (A800, D2000) in defense mode. Then I activate my trap card Rope of Life. I send the rest of my hand to the graveyard to bring back my Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv.6. It also gets an increase of 800 attack points. Now Horus, attack the disgusting monster on Josh's side of the field with Black Flame Breath. I end my turn", she said. The dragon reappeared on the field and burned away Bazoo. Rope of Life was a picture of a monster falling down a hole and grabbing onto a rope.

Josh Anna

7100 7800

James drew his next card. His little brother's amazing dueling skills surprised him. Normally, Zach was a terrible duelist. "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior. When he is summoned to the field, he destroys a magic or a trap card on the field. I choose to get rid of Big Bang Shot and because of its effect, you lose Ha Des. I end my turn". The red armored warrior appeared and Ha Des shattered.

Zach drew another card. "I summon Skull Knight #2 (A1000, D1200) in attack mode. Now my Skull Knight, attack Breaker the Magical Warrior. Yes I know I just did damage to myself. But success needs sacrifice. I offer the three fiend monsters in my graveyard to summon my Dark Necrofear in attack mode. Dark Necrofear, attack Breaker with Death Spell. Next, Jinzo will attack your life points directly. I end my turn", he said.

James Zach

1000 8000

James drew the card resting on the top of his deck and grinned wider than most people think possible.

Karl wiped the tears from his eyes. He was choking on the smoke in the large chamber. His eyes and nose were burning and if he inhaled through his mouth, he would cough and wheeze. He recognized the smell as cigarette smoke. He held up his hand and the Shadow Emblem cleared the smoke from the room. He looked to his right and saw the Wind Bearer smoking in the middle of the room. He pulled off his gray cloak and showed his skinny body and his duel disk. The duel disk looked strange to Karl. It was green and instead of having a rectangular card holding area, it was like the blade of a scythe. Karl's eyes flared a dark purple and the Wind Bearer's cigarette ripped to shreds in his fingers and mouth. "Listen Shadow Bearer, if you tell me your name, I'll tell you mine. I am known as Nick. I told you mine so the author doesn't have to write 'The Wind Bearer' over and over.

Karl lowered his hand and responded, "My friends call me Karl. But don't bother trying to remember it. You're only going to be around long enough for me to torture you with my deck before I trap you in the Shadow Realm". Then out of nowhere, both of the duelists started laughing and both of them formed the Shadow Realm. Karl drew his hand and a card. "I set a monster face down in defense mode. Next I play a card face down to keep you guessing. I end my turn", he said.

Nick drew his own cards. "Hm, first I activate a magic card that is very old. I'm sure you've heard all about it. Because no matter how this magic is, ours is older. I play the field card called the Seal of Orichalcos. Now, the loser not only loses their mind, but their soul as well. Also, my monsters will receive a boost of 500 points. Next I summon the Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode. His defense is increase to 2500. Next I activate the Pot of Greed and draw two cards. I end my turn", he said.

Karl drew his next card. "It doesn't matter how much your monster was increased by if it's mine. I activate the power of my Change of Heart. I take control of the Giant Soldier of Stone. Next I offer both of the monsters on my side of the field for the Tri-Horned Dragon (A2850, D2350). Tri-Horned Dragon, attack his life points directly with Unworthy Fire Blast. Next I destroy your Seal of Orichalcos with Heavy Storm. This magic card destroys every magic and trap card on the field. I end my turn by playing two cards face down", he said. The dragon he played was blue with a giant mouth and three horns sticking out the top of his head. The monster opened his mouth and unleashed a stream of fire at Nick. Then a card with a tornado came and hit the edges of the Orichalcos Seal but the Seal remained where it was.

Karl Nick

8000 5150

Nick laughed at Karl's play. "Obviously, you don't know enough about the Orichalcos. I'll inform you of it. Along with the monsters used in Duel Monsters, the Atlanteans made the Orichalcos and used it to create the Leviathan. When Timeas, Critias, and Hellmos destroyed the Leviathan, its magic went to Egypt and created the Shadow Games and the Shadow Realm. Now, it is a card and can't be destroyed my simple magic, trap, or monster effects. Now, I set a monster face down in defense mode. Then play two cards face down and end my turn", he said.

Karl drew another card. "I can't play anything. So I guess I will attack your monster with Unworthy Fire Blast". The dragon opened its mouth again and shot a jet of fire at Nick's monster.

Nick pressed a button on his strange duel disk and a cared flipped up. "I reveal my face down trap Mirror Force and reflect your attack back at you. Now Tri-Horned Dragon will be destroyed", he said. He began to laugh again.

Karl pushed a button on his duel disk and said, "I'm sorry, but my dragon isn't going anywhere. I reveal a trap card of my own. My Waboku will negate the attack. I end my turn".

Nick drew a card. His mood seemed unchanged by Karl's play. "I reveal the trap card Jar of Greed so that I may draw another card. Now I activate Graceful Charity and draw three new cards. I set the Mystical Elf (Now A1300, D2500) in defense mode and end my turn".

Karl picked up his third card. He couldn't believe the luck he was getting. He felt as if Slifer, Ra, and Obelisk were blessing him to get back at Nick. Karl was determined to win, even if he lost to the Bearer of the Spirit Emblem. "I play a card face down on the field. Next, Tri-Horned Dragon will attack your elf. I end my turn", he said.

Josh Anna

4500 4900

Josh pulled a card from his deck slot. Most people in his position would have been too scared to think straight. But Josh kept his cool and took his turn. "I summon the Spirit Reaper in defense mode. Now your dragon can't penetrate my life points. Next I set a card face down on the field. I end my turn", he said.

Anna drew a card. She was getting frustrated. She had just summoned her strongest monster and now she couldn't attack with it. "Don't worry too much Josh, pretty soon the Five God Dragon (A5000, D5000) will be able to attack".

Josh cut off her turn by pushing a button on his duel disk. "Reveal face down trap card Destiny Board. At each of my standby phases, I can bring a spirit message to the field from my hand or deck. Once I have all five letters of the message on the field, I automatically win.

Anna looked surprised by this move. She didn't think Josh would play such a card against her. She continued her turn. "I play a card face down and end my turn".

Josh drew a card. "First, Spirit Message I will come from my deck. Next, I play a card face down. In three turns, I will walk out of the Shadow Realm as the winner if you don't give up now. I end my turn", he said. Both Destiny Board and the Spirit Messages were pictures of ghosts holding letters. Destiny Board had F and Spirit Message I had an I.

Anna drew a card and giggled. "I activate the magic card Raigeki. This card destroys every monster on your side of the field. Now Five God Dragon, attack his life points directly with Five Titan Breath". Five God Dragon was a purple dragon with five heads. The first head was a neck and head made of metal. The second was a dark dragon. Third was earth, fourth was water, and fifth was fire. Each of the five heads opened their mouths and fired an attack.

Josh grinned as a giant mirror appeared in front of him. "Reveal face down card, Mirror Wall. This will cut your dragon's attack in half and we both lose that much life points. But now, I will discard it so I don't have to pay 2000 life points", he said.

Anna frowned, as once again the dragon didn't hit Josh. "I end my turn she said.

Josh Anna

1900 2400

Josh drew another card and Spirit Message N appeared next to the other letters. "I will set a monster face down in defense mode and set a card face down. I end my turn", he said.

Nick drew a card. "I activate the magic card known as Card of Sanctity. This allows us to draw cards until we both have six in our hands. Next I set the Witch of the Black Forest (Now A1600, 1700) in defense mode. I will place a card face down and end my turn", he said.

Karl drew a card and sneered. "I set a Giant Soldier of Stone of my own in defense mode. Next I play another card face down. Now your Witch of the Black Forest will be burned by my Tri-Horned Dragon's Unworthy Fire Blast", he said as the dragon killed another of Nick's monsters.

Nick drew a card and grinned. "Because you destroyed my Witch of the Black Forest, I can bring a monster with 1500 defense points or less to my hand. Now I summon Battle Footballer (A100, D2100) (Now A600, D2600) in defense mode. I end my turn", he said.

Karl drew the next card in his deck and continued sneering at Nick. He slammed the card on his duel disk as he played them. "First I activate the power of Dian Keto the Cure Master to increase my life points by 1000. Next I sacrifice the Giant Soldier of Stone for the Dark Magician Girl. You know all about this monster, seeing how you're the reason its owner is in the Shadow Realm. Tri-Horned Dragon, burn away his pathetic monster with Unworthy Fire Blast. Now your life points are wide open for a direct attack from the Dark Magician Girl's Dark Burning Attack. I end my turn here Nick", said. Both of Karl's monsters attacked Nick. Nick took the hits as if he didn't even feel them.

Karl Nick

9000 3150

Nick drew his card nonchalantly and looked at it and smiled. "I set my Sangan in defense mode. Next I reveal my face down trap card Jar of Greed. Now I get a new card in my hand. I'll let you in on something Karl. This is the longest duel I've been in since I built this deck. Now watch, as I'm sure to win this duel now. I activate the Card Destruction magic card. This forces us to throw away our entire hands and then we draw cards equal to the amount we discarded. Next I play the Trade with Dark Ruler. We can discard up to three cards and draw cards equal to that amount. Now I activate my card called Angel That Protects Hands. This will allow me to keep these four cards when I play the magic card Favorites which makes us pick one card from or hand discard all others and we draw cards equal to that much. Now I play a card face down to end my turn", he said.

Karl drew his card and Nick pushed a button on his duel disk. "I reveal my third and final Jar of Greed. Ah, I have drawn the last card I needed. I have drawn the Right Arm of the Forbidden One. Now I'll activate his effect and destroy the Sangan on my side of the field to play the Right Leg of the Forbidden One (A200, D300), Right Arm of the Forbidden One (A200, D300), Exodia the Forbidden One (A1000, D1000), Left Arm of the Forbidden One (A200, D300), and Left Leg of the Forbidden One (A200, D300). These monsters combine to form Exodia (A unlimited, D unlimited). There is something that has been killing me to know. How is it that you were able to over power my Exodia the last time we met?" he asked.

Karl had been staring at the card he had drawn.

Anna drew a card and added it to her hand without even glancing at it. "Finally I can attack you. Five God Dragon, destroy his monster with Five Titan Breath", she said. Josh's monster was blasted to smithereens.

Josh drew his card. He looked up at the field and saw as Spirit Message A took place in the air. "Anna, there is no way for you to win. You can't break through to my life points in time since the Five God Dragon takes up all of your monster spaces and you can only attack once. Now I will place a monster face down in defense mode and end my turn".

Anna drew her final card. She looked at the Ninth Emblem on her right hand and concentrated very hard, but nothing happened. "What is going on? Why can't I leave the Shadow Realm? The guy said that if I wanted to leave the Shadow Realm that the black cloud would go away", she said.

Josh held up his hand and showed that the green Emblem of the Forest was emitting a glow. "Don't worry, you did everything right. The Shadow Realm cloud that you formed around us did fade away. But I created one around yours so now we're where I have taken us. I didn't want you letting down your masters. Now take your last turn", he said coldly.

Anna looked at her hand. It was nothing but a bunch of worthless monsters that she couldn't play anyway. She was angry with herself for stacking her deck with so many monsters so she would always be able to summon her dragon. "I can only attack your monster with the Five God Dragon. I end my turn", she declared. Tears slid down her cheeks as her powerful dragon blasted away Josh's monster. She couldn't believe that her boyfriend was going to let her lose and was forcing her to stay in the Shadow Realm. She knew that Sabrina had acted stupid and stayed in the Shadow Realm when she could have left and Karl wouldn't have reformed the black cloud. But Josh was going to make sure she didn't leave.

Josh drew the last card of the duel. He placed the card he drew on his duel disk and said, "I play the magic card Spirit Message L. Now I have formed the last message from my deck to you: FINAL. I want you to know Anna, that what I'm diong is for your own good and hurts me more than it does you. Just keep that Five God Dragon in your right hand at all times and you'll be safe".

Anna ran as fast as she could to Josh and put her arms around him. He put his arms around her and she said, "I'm so sorry Josh. I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you. But I can still feel the guy's hold on me. He says that I have failed him and that success needs sacrifice. Please stop him sweetheart".

Josh looked down at her and replied, "James and I are on our way to stop him right now. But Karl is already there and he not only has an emblem but the Egyptian God Cards as well. You're going to be just fine". Then the Shadow Realm ripped the two of them apart and assimilated Anna.

James placed the cards in his hand on the field. "I summon the unstoppable Exodia. You've seen me use this before, Zach. You know how powerful it is. Exodia's attack points are literally unlimited and one attack automatically ends the duel. Now Exodia, attack Jinzo with Obliterate", he said. Exodia formed a ball of yellow energy and threw it at Jinzo and Jinzo, along with the Dark Necrofear, was destroyed. Zach's life point meter hit zero and he collapsed to the ground. "I love you, man. And don't worry, Josh and I are heading straight to the bitch that did this. And don't forget that Karl is there and he is using the Egyptian God Cards while he's pissed".

Zach looked up and said, "Those guys are so fucked". The two brothers laughed as Zach was dragged down into the shadows.

The Shadow Realm faded away and James saw Josh standing and catching his breath. This was natural after being in the Shadow Realm. James walked over to him and began taking deep breaths. "You ready Josh? How far do you think Karl is so far?" he asked his friend.

They stood up and began running. "That all depends. How pissed did he sound when he called?"

Karl looked at Nick with a sinister smile. Nick didn't show it, but he was secretly scared of what Karl had drawn. "So you want to know how I defeated Exodia. Well the funny thing is, I did it the same way then as I am going to do now. I play the magic card Premature Burial to reborn a card that you killed during your discarding frenzy for the cost of 800 life points. I bring back my favorite card, The Magician of Black Chaos. Next I play Monster Reborn to bring back another card that you killed with those cards: Slifer the Sky Dragon", he said. The Magician of Black Chaos appeared with the help of a card that had a picture of a zombie crawling out of a grave. Then Slifer erupted from the ground and roared. "Next I offer the Tri-Horned Dragon, Dark Magician Girl, and the Magician of Black Chaos for the Winged Dragon of Ra". The monsters were offered and a golden ball formed on the field. The ball opened up and Ra flew out, screeching and giving off a golden glow. "Ra's overall attack is determined by the attack of the monsters that were offered for it, giving Ra 7650. Now I play Polymerization. This card fuses monsters together to create stronger ones. I combine the Winged Dragon of Ra and Slifer the Sky Dragon with my Obelisk the Tormentor in my hand". Obelisk formed on the field and roared louder than Slifer and Ra. The three monsters created a flash and in their place was a monster bigger than any of the Egyptian God Cards. It had the body of Obelisk and his wings, too. It has Ra's head and below the torso was Slifer's long serpent body. "This is the most powerful card in Duel Monsters. This is Anubis the Forgotten One (AX000, DX000). He starts off with the combined attack of Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra so he's at 12650. Then he gains an additional 1000 for every card in both graveyards. Now let's discuss his effects. Magic, trap, and monster effects don't apply to him. Also, when he's summoned to the field, every magic, trap, and monster with the word 'Exodia' in its name is removed from play. Now you're defenseless. Anubis the Forgotten One, attack his life points directly with Vengeful Wrath of the Gods". When Anubis moved, the Seal of Orcichalcos shattered. Anubis opened its mouth and formed a blue ball of energy in its hands. A blue blast came from the hands, a red one from the mouth, and a golden one from the eyes. When the attack stopped, Nick was on the ground, finally feeling the pain from being attacked in the Shadow Realm. Karl walked over to him and his eyes started glowing purple.

The Shadow Realm faded away, taking Nick with it. Karl started thinking. 'I don't get it. All I could ever think about was getting back at him for causing my friends to go to the Shadow Realm. And now that he's gone, I wish he were still here. I sort of feel like just leaving now. I don't have much of a reason to be mad at the Spirit Bearer. He may just give up now that two of the five are gone. Josh and James may have already taken care of the other two. Whoa, I can set Sabrina and the others free now'. Karl concentrated and looked into the Shadow Realm for his friends. He could see Nick and the Water Bearer. But his friends were nowhere to be found. Then he saw Josh's girlfriend and James' brother. But as soon a s they arrived, a strange orange light surrounded them and they disappeared. Karl understood what was going on. The Spirit Bearer was already gathering souls from the Shadow Realm, now that he had the Millenium Puzzle. Karl opened his eyes, which were still glowing. "No time to wait for Josh and James. I have to stop him now", he said. He used the Shadow Emblem and lifted himself off of the ground and forced himself through the air toward the Spirit Bearer's throne room.

Josh and James continued along to the street where Karl and Yugi met. They arrived and ignited their emblems to find the entrance. Josh pointed it out to James and the forced a tree to grow out of the sidewalk so they could climb up to the hole. When they were inside, they ran down the long hallway and came into a smoke filled room. They made there way through and eventually came into another chamber. It was extremely bright and they had trouble seeing. The light lessened and they saw two cloaked men standing at the other end of the room.

"It is so good to see the two of you. We've been waiting around all day. Our leader said that we are to leave the Shadow Bearer to him, but we could play with you", one of them said. The light grew even fainter and the two Emblem Knights could see who was talking to them. One person was in a yellow cloak with the insignia of light on his right hand. This was the Bearer of Light. The other figure had a white cloak with an insignia of jagged lines all over it: the Lightning Bearer. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Joseph the Light Bearer and this is the Wielder of the Lightning Emblem", he said. When Joseph had finished speaking, the black cloud of the Shadow Realm surrounded the four. James and Josh figured that they were on teams against the two.

James drew his first hand. "First I play my Pot of Greed magic card and draw two extra cards. Next I set a card face down and summon the Blazing Inpachi. I end my turn", he said.

The Lightning Bearer drew his opening hand and grinned. "This is my first monster, Obsolete Transformer (A1750, D1500) in attack mode. Next I set two cards face down and combine my monster with Machine Conversion Factory to raise its attack points by 300. I end my turn", he said as a blue truck formed on the field. It transformed into a robot with wings.

Josh took his turn next. "I set a monster face down in defense mode and protect with these two face down cards. That's all for now", he said.

Joseph drew his card. "I summon Goblin Attack Force. Then I set two cards face down. Now my Goblin Attack Force attacks your Blazing Inpachi", he said.

James pressed a button on his duel disk and his face down card flipped up. "Reveal face down card Waboku. This card will stop your attack where your monster stands".

Karl sprinted through the hideout of the five. He looked out a window and saw a tall chamber on a spire directly ahead and an orange glow was coming through the spire's one window. Karl sprinted and began to climb the staircase of the spire. There was a wooden door with a metal handle and rusty hinges. Karl walked in and wondered why the hinges didn't squeak. The chamber looked like it was too big to be in the spire. Karl quickly realized that the chamber was just like his house and was in a different dimension. In the center was a throne-type chair surround by eight small spires. In the throne was a man in an orange cloak. There was an emblem on his right hand. It was an orange circle that resembled a balance sign (yin-yang) but was completely orange. The spires were each a different color. There was one for each of the Emblem Knights and for each of the five. The orange cloaked man didn't say anything. Karl thought that he might be asleep. Suddenly, Karl's cell phone rang. He opened it up and heard James say, "Karl, Josh and I have defeated the bearers of Light and Lightning. Where are you?"

Karl sighed with relief knowing that they now outnumbered the five (or rather the one). "I'm in the Spirit Bearer's throne room. Hurry here just in case I lose", Karl said and hung up. The Spirit Bearer stood up and the emblem on his hand emitted an orange glow. His eyes were also glowing orange.

"You should not have come here without your friends. You'll soon fond out that no matter how skilled you are as a duelist, it won't help you here. As you can see, I have no duel disk because I do not have a deck. I do not even know how to duel. And I know what your friends told you. I know because the lights in the spires of my minions have gone out. But just because I don't duel doesn't mean I can't defeat you using the monsters of the ancient Shadow Games. All I have to do is keep you distracted long enough for my spire to take enough souls from the Shadow Realm and create the card that I will use to change the world and make me the Pharaoh". Karl saw that the Millenium Puzzle was balancing tip to tip on the Spirit Spire. The Shadow Realm formed around two and filled the chamber. "We shall each use three monsters. I choose the Curse of Anubis, Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv.8 and the Seal o Isis". The three cards came to life in front of him. There was a golden box with a black statue of Anubis resting on it, a giant silver dragon that was a more deadly form of Horus Lv.6 and a magical circle with a stork in the middle.

Karl pulled three cards out of his pocket. "Two of those aren't even monsters. But it won't matter what you play because I summon The Winged Dragon of Ra, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and Obelisk the Tormentor. The Egyptian God Cards can't be defeated unless a stronger monster destroys them and Horus is much to weak to kill them", he said.

The Spirit Bearer then held up a fourth card. It had a picture of waves pulsating out of a hand reaching out of some clouds. "This is a one of a kind card called Godly Conduct. It transforms any card into an Egyptian God Card. The Curse of Anubis becomes Anubis the Jackal King. Horus becomes Horus the Lord of the Wind. And the Seal of Isis is now the Forbidden Soldier of Isis. The Godly Conduct card was made when I offered the power of the Seal of Orichalcos to my spire. Now my god cards, attack the Shadow Bearer's monsters". Anubis, who held an ax in his hand, swung the ax and the hands of Obelisk caught it. Horus and Ra grabbed each other's hands and began pushing each other. And Isis and Slifer started chasing each other. Obelisk opened his mouth and a ball of white energy formed and flew at Anubis who flew against the wall of the chamber. Ra and Horus also fired a blast from their mouths and both of them were forced into walls because their attacks exploded on contact. Slifer fired a beam of concentrated electricity at Isis and who crashed into the ceiling. The god cards stood up and in front of their masters.

"I was hoping I would get a chance to do this against you. I play the Polymerization magic card to combine Ra, Slifer, and Obelisk to form Anubis the Forgotten One". Anubis took up most of the Chamber. "Attack Anubis the Jackal King, Horus the Lord of the Wind, and The Soldier of Isis with Vengeful Wrath of the Gods", Karl said. Anubis attacked and destroyed all three of the monsters. The Spirit Bearer was pissed. He started to form a ball of orange energy with his right hand. He shot it at Karl and Karl was lifted off of the ground in the explosion. He stood up and his eyes were glowing purple. He held up his right and two, giant, black arms stretched out from behind him. The arms grabbed the Spirit Bearer and squeezed his left arm against his side but his right hand was free. He held his hand up and started to panic. The Spirit Emblem was emitting a purple glow. He knew that this meant Karl was using the Shadow Emblem to prevent the Spirit Emblem from working. Karl began to squeeze the Spirit Bearer to death when the Spirit Spire began to hum. The Millenium Puzzle fell off and a card flew out and into the right hand of the Spirit Bearer. He saw it and grinned. He held it up and it let out a whit light. The light forced the black arms to retract.

"This is the card I have been waiting to finish. I activate the magic card Seal of Darkness. With this I will absorb all of the power from your Shadow Emblem and give it to me. Now prepare to spend the rest of eternity in the Shadow Realm", he said. He held up the card again and Karl felt to weak to stand and collapsed to the floor.

He passed out and had a dream. There were six people standing around him. They stuck out their right hands and Karl saw there was an emblem on each one. Karl held his hand out and they all grabbed it at once. They pulled him up and his emblem started to glow brighter than ever. The figures faded away and Karl opened his eyes to see only like five seconds had passed. The Spirit Bearer was surprised to see Karl standing up and that the white light from the card had faded. Karl looked at his hand and there was a card in it. It had a picture of the Shadow, Water, Fire, Forest, Wind, Light, and Lightning Emblems all surround the Spirit Emblem. "I use the power of the magic card called Sealing Away the Spirit. This card has the combined power of the seven remaining Emblem Knights. You should have tried to help your 'comrades'. Now they're helping me. Spirit Bearer, this is the end of you", Karl shouted. The card released an image of the seven symbols and they shot a light of their color at the Spirit Bearer back into the card with them. Then the Shadow Spire absorbed the card and the spires began glowing and humming. Then a man sat at the throne.

"Hello Karl. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Racteshef. I am the first Shadow Knight. It is because of me that you have your powers. Listen to me carefully. Since the Bearer of the Spirit Emblem offered the souls he stole through the Shadow Realm, it will be difficult getting them back. But since we are the keepers of the Shadow Realm, we should be able to do it. Yes, you are the living ruler of the Shadow Realm. It is easy to guess why, Shadow Knight. Now you must choose the person you care about the most and lost because of the rogue Emblem Knights. If I'm not mistaken, it's the girl you lost to the Wind Knight. It is her you must play against in a Shadow Game. She will still bear the Ninth Emblem and won't return to normal unless you defeat her. I wish you good luck. And don't go easy on her. Try to make this quick or she might defeat you. She almost did last time. If you win, every person that was offered by the Bearer of the Spirit Emblem will return where they lost", the man said. Then he faded away. And Sabrina was sitting in the throne.

'Okay, this is it. All I have to do is defeat Sabrina in a Shadow Game again and she'll be free', Karl thought to himself. "I will start this duel Sabrina. I set one monster face down and end my turn".

Sabrina drew her first hand. "My first card is the White Magical Hat (A1000, D1000). Then I combine him with the Malevolent Nuzzler to increase his attack points to 700. Now my monster, attack the face down card. I end my turn", she said. The White Magical Hat was a mustachioed man with a purple suit and a red cape. There was a white top hat resting on his head. The monster punched Karl's face down card and it shattered.

"You attacked my Cyber Jar. Now every monster on the field is destroyed and we summon every level four or lower monster consisting of our next five cards. I get these three monsters who I will play face down". Sabrina played the Frontier Wiseman (A1600, D800). It was an old man with a book wearing frontier clothes. "Now I activate my magic card called the Dark Magic Ritual to offer my face down Giant Soldier of Stone, Man-Eater Bug, and Magician of Faith for the Magician of Black Chaos. Since Man-Eater Bug flipped up, I can destroy your Frontier Wiseman. Next I play the Shallow Grave so that we can both reborn a monster in face down defense mode. Then I flip up my face down monster, which happens to be my Man-Eater bug again so that I can destroy your monster and offer him for another card, the Beast of Talwar. Next I activate Dian Keto the Cure Master to increase my life points to 9000 and play a card face down. Beast of Talwar, attack with Twin Blades of the Talwar". The monster hit Sabrina with both of his swords. "Now Magician of Black Chaos will attack your life points directly with Chaos Scepter Blast. I end my turn". The Magician of Black Chaos struck the ground and a ball of black lightning hit Sabrina.

Karl Sabrina

9000 2400

Sabrina drew her card. "I set two cards face down and summon the Rock Ogre Grotto #1 (A800, D1200) in defense mode and end my turn", she said. Her monster was a statue made out of rocks.

Karl drew his card, which would be the only card in his hand. "I activate my Change of Heart magic card and take control of your monster. Now Magician of Black Chaos will attack you again with Chaos Scepter Blast. This duel is over". The holograms faded as Karl saw Sabrina get dragged down into the Shadow Realm and it disappeared. Karl was confused until he saw the Spirit Spire shimmering and glowing. The spire released an ass load of blue balls, each with the picture of whose soul it was. Karl left the chamber and the strange dimension to see Josh and James asleep in front of it. He guessed they were exhausted of dueling against two of the rogue Emblem Knights and reaching through a dimension into the Shadow Realm to help him out. Karl held up his hand and carried them to his house and let them sleep on the couches. He went into his room and was asleep before he hit the bed. It was the first night in weeks he didn't have a nightmare.

He woke up to find Josh, James, Chris, Mike, Jeremy, Zach, Anna and Yugi eating breakfast. Karl saw that the Ninth Emblem was no longer on the hands of his friends. The Millenium Puzzle rested around Yugi's neck. Karl joined them and told what happened in the other dimension. After breakfast, Jeremy, Mike, and Chris went home. Karl, Josh, and James walked Yugi to his grandfather's card shop and explained about the rogue Emblem Knights.

"We have decided to let the others join us. They weren't really interested in the Spirit Bearer's plan. But they were afraid of his power. They were just like Marik's Mind Slaves. He has been sealed away for the rest of eternity inside the card I played. And because he will never die, there will never be another Spirit Bearer to take his place", James said. They arrived and said good bye to Yugi before turning and going home.

That evening, the house of the Emblem Knights rang. James answered the door and saw Sabrina standing in the doorway. "Is Karl here? I need to speak with him", she said. She looked ready to cry. James motioned her to follow him into the house. In the main room she saw Josh sitting with a guy with white, spiked hair. On another couch was a man with wavy hair that had been dyed blue, and a guy she recognized as the one who gave her the Ninth Emblem (which was no longer on her hand either). In the last chair was a guy with slicked back blonde hair. She didn't see Karl anywhere. James grabbed his sweatshirt and said, "Karl's not here. But I will take you to see him". The two of them walked to the street where Karl first met Yugi. They looked up and saw a purple ball in the sky. "That's just Karl closing up the hole into the Spirit Bearers hideout". They walked to the hotel Karl escaped from the cops from. James told Sabrina to go up to the roof. Sabrina got up there and saw Karl standing with his arm and she saw the purple ball disappear. He turned around and the two of them walked to each other. Sabrina had tears in her eyes. She was about to say she was sorry but she couldn't. Karl was using the magic of the Shadow Emblem to restrain from talking. He smiled and shook his head. He held out his hand to give her a card: the Dark Magician Girl. She put her arms around him and he did the same. The looked at each other as the sun began to go down and kissed.

The End


End file.
